this story originally appeared in on sep 25 2012 kolkata consumers can look forward to some mouthwatering bargains this festive season as white goods makers and lifestyle retailers ready to dole out freebies and special discounts to prop up demand at a time when sales have slowed down durable makers like panasonic samsung whirlpool godrej and videocon are bringing back sales promotion schemes after almost four years as a lastditch effort to boost sales in a period that typically accounts for up to 40 of annual sales these manufacturers have decided to hold onto prices despite a recent appreciation in the price of raw materials promotional offers are expected to boost consumer sentiment which has been down so far this year says manish sharma panasonic indias managing director for consumer products there was a brief period of jump in sales during mayjune when airconditioner sales spiked due to extended summer but the market after that has become worse he adds panasonic plans to invest 70 crore on promotional offers and marketing during the festive period as per industry estimates sales of refrigerator and washing machines have remained flat throughout the year while growth in airconditioner sales fell by more than 10 sales of flat panel televisions including lcd led and plasma televisions grew marginally by 10 as compared to 8090 growth during the preslowdown days albeit on a lower base arvind uppal managing director whirlpool india reckons the weak consumer sentiment is more exaggerated than the ground reality we expect demand will pick up during festive season but we have learnt not to live in hope we are drawing strategies to outperform the market to grow by 1520 during this period he said both whirlpool and panasonic have lined up gifts with every purchase while korean major samsung is offering bundled offers with its premium product range such as flat panel televisions and sidebyside refrigerators these marketers are also going easy on passing increased costs in raw materials to the consumer we are holding onto prices despite input cost pressure says mahesh krishnan vice president samsung india he expects consumer sentiment to improve and his sales to grow by 2530 during the festive period while the rupee has stabilized against the dollar durable makers say the pricing pressure on input materials is rising once again godrej appliances coo george menezes says copper prices have firmed up by 5 in the past one week however he adds the industry has no option but to keep price hikes on hold during the festive season prices have increased three times this year making refrigerators dearer by 710 washing machine by 1518 and airconditioners by 1820 this has played a big role in dampening sentiments says menezes godrej appliances is launching a new range of refrigerators and washing machines during the festive season it has lined up gifts with every purchase and even a trade promotion whereby dealers can get up to one kg of gold based on their sales realization it has to