oes size matter? Both Godzilla and Hitachi think that it does. That�s where the agreement between the creature from the past and the MNC from Japan ends. Godzilla lived on screen believing big is better. In India, the company is plugging its new airconditioner, Hitachi Atom, saying small is powerful. (And Hitachi may be right after all because Godzilla did come to a gory end - unless, of course, a sequel revives him.)

Size - and by extension, design - in the airconditioner market is a new differentiator. Its use by Hitachi Home and Life Solutions (India) Ltd (HHLI) is a signal from a company that is trying to start apart from the crush in consumer durables. "Unlike the Korean brands and other players in the room airconditioning industry, we have decided to move from merely acquiring market share to delivering more value to customers," says Amit Doshi, the company�s vice-president, marketing and service operations. ... more