Festive discounts: Out of stock chains, ecommerce sites run out of appliances | Economic Times

Kolkata: Indian consumers face a shortage of entry-level laptops, premium refrigerators and microwave ovens, televisions and dishwashers due to robust festive season demand and low supplies. Amazon, Flipkart and even leading retail chains have run out of stock of these appliances amid a successful launch to festive season discount sales. The reasons range from a global shortage of components for televisions, laptops and dishwashers. Meanwhile, following India’s clampdown on TV imports, consignments are stuck at ports as companies haven’t been able to get import licences in time, said people with knowledge of the matter.Several models of LG, Samsung, Lenovo, Bosch, Siemens, TCL, Kodak and Thomson are no longer available. Online-focused brands such as Vu have just half of last year's stock while BPL hasn’t featured at all on the marketplaces this festive season, four industry executives said. All companies said they are trying to rush more stock before Diwali to partly make up for lost sales.Samsung has sold out its high-end television sets such as the QLED models, while there is hardly much stock left for laptops priced up to ₹35,000 across brands that are in high demand. 78760199‘Consumers Upgrading Products’LG dishwashers are out of stock as are some models of its premium side-by-side refrigerators and microwave ovens. Bosch and Siemens have sold out dishwashers, washing machines and mixer-grinders. Brands such as TCL, Kodak and Thomson have seen their televisions sold out. These include models in the 32-40-inch screen range and even sets from the premium 4K lineup. “Shortages are due to high demand as well as supply issues,” said Vijay Babu, vice president at LG Electronics India, the country’s largest appliance maker. “For household appliances, consumers are upgrading products this festive season to make their daily chores easier and hence there is huge demand for premium products.”Low supplies have meant stocks running out, said Nilesh Gupta, director of Vijay Sales, a electronics retail chain in Mumbai and Delhi. Executives said there’s a global shortage of components such as television panels and parts for laptops and dishwashers. On top of that, brands such as Samsung have several thousands of sets stuck in ports as they haven’t got import licences. Companies such as Vu and TCL, which import sets, haven’t been able to scale up local production in such a short time to compensate for the shortages crippling supplies.