"Can't have just one product in the market"

Philippe Delpech, President of Otis Elevator, talks to Venkatesha Babu about demand for elevators and escalators in a slowing global economy and lessons from India.

How is Otis faring in a slowing global economy?

We do see changes in the global economy. America has been the strongest and there has been spectacular recovery in the past two-three years. We are growing and capturing further market share there. We are moving slowly in Europe but it has been good in South Asia, India and Middle East. We have not seen the impact of oil (prices falling) in the Middle East yet, but it will come. Russia, China and Brazil are the troubled economies.

India is a price sensitive market and your latest range is a premium offering ...

We have a product line for every segment of the market except manual door, where we have issues on safety. Every other segment already has a product or one to be launched in the next few months, from the low speed to high speed ones required for high rises. All products are manufactured and tested in the factory in Bangalore. We are also looking at escalators for supermarkets to be manufactured in India. We will have the full product range. Now the Indian market is not unique, you see a price sensitive segment in most of the markets, I would say even in developed markets. I think you cannot answer the market with one product range. You need all.

Any learnings from the Indian market?

In India, unlike any other developing markets, services (to maintain equipment) revenues are growing faster than product sales. It is a trend generally visible in developed markets. I think that's a great success in India.