Companies are simultaneously seeking cost efficiencies to protect margins and keep products affordable
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Consumer durable makers are beginning to pass higher input costs on to consumers, raising the prospect of a broader price reset after companies absorbed much of the inflationary pressure in the previous year.The trend is emerging across kitchen appliances and cookware, with manufacturers pointing to sustained increases in aluminium, metals, plastics and packaging costs. TTK Prestige said input material and packaging costs had risen 5-7 per cent and that it had initially managed the increase through inventory management and planning. However, it began passing on the increase towards the end of the first quarter.“Specifically for TTK Prestige and probably for the industry as well, there would be a price hike that the market would probably start to see and experience over Q2,” Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan, MD& CEO of TTK Prestige, said in a recent interaction with businessline.He said input costs had stabilised after the sharp increase but had not returned to previous levels, resulting in a “base change” in costs.Realisation PricesThe commentary from other kitchen-appliance makers points in the same direction.Stove Kraft managing director Rajendra Gandhi said the company had faced continuing input-cost pressure and had responded by increasing realisations in the domestic market. “There is definitely price increase, in the input costs. And so we have addressed this by adjusting the realisation prices,” he said during the company’s analyst call.Hawkins Cookers, meanwhile, said in its annual report that raw material costs had been “trending significantly higher” and that it had already taken price increases, while warning that it “may have to take more if the situation demands.” Aluminium, its main raw material, had increased substantially, it said, with the price trend appearing to remain upward. The company said it had raised product prices in March and April 2026.Protect MarginsThe developments suggest that consumer durable prices may no longer continue to cool, although the extent of the pass-through could vary by category and competitive intensity. Companies are simultaneously seeking cost efficiencies to protect margins and keep products affordable, particularly as general inflation could weigh on consumers’ purchasing power.For Stove Kraft, Gandhi said the company remained confident of its current margin levels and expected at least a 1 per cent year-on-year improvement in gross margin, helped by higher realisations and efficiencies.Published on August 12, 2026
