Calcutta-based start-up 999services is witnessing robust growth as it looks to make air-conditioners an essential product and bring an element of reliability in its servicing.

Its e-commerce platform provides doorstep air-conditioning services to more than 15 cities in the country. It also delivers refurbished ACs to 17,000 pincodes with plans to have a pan-India presence. Enthused by the growth seen so far, it is now looking to expand to countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar and even the UAE.

“The price of our refurbished ACs is one-third that of new ACs. Because of this, people in low-income groups can also purchase it. Soon, we are launching an instalment-based purchase for which we will be tying up with a bank. Thus, ACs will no longer be an aspirational product for some,” Vedang Khetawat, founder and CEO at 999services.com, told The Telegraph. While window ACs are available from Rs 13,999, the price of split ACs start at Rs 17,999.

He said while the platform began operations in April during the lockdown, the journey so far has been rewarding, having sold more than 18,000 ACs. The growth is set to accelerate as customer spending resumes with the economy recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the objective of the platform is to make refurbished ACs work like new ones, Khetawat disclosed that all their air-conditioners go through extensive inspection, restoration and quality control before reaching the customer.

The air-conditioners that are sourced are not more than 365-days old and they may come with minimum defects. However, these are rectified before being offered to the customer.

He pointed out that all refurbished ACs purchased on their website comes with a six-month or one-year free unlimited replacement programme which means that customers will get a new refurbished AC if they find any malfunction within one year.

The platform also offers servicing of ACs. Here it is looking to differentiate by creating a transparent system that eliminates unreliable contractors. “Homeowners will know exactly who will be servicing their AC unit and when the AC technician will be arriving. We offer services such as deep cleaning and repair and have plans to suit the customer’s pocket,” Khetawat said.

We have seen good growth in this segment as well’’, Khetawat said.

According to the annual report of Blue Star for the year ended March 31, 2020, during the year the overall market size for air conditioning products was estimated at around Rs 17,500 crore of which the market for room air conditioners accounted for Rs 11,200 crore. At a conference call with analysts after its second quarter results, the company’s top management had said that while the demand recovery during the period exceeded expectations as more retail outlets were opened, by December, the market is expected to reach 100 per cent of last year’s level.