Iris Ohyama, based in Sendai, is taking on Osaka Prefecture's more established home appliance makers, including Panasonic and Sharp, in the battle for consumers' hearts and wallets.

Iris joined the home appliance market in 2009 and its strategy of manufacturing cheaper alternatives to big-name rivals by stripping out superfluous features has proved a hit with consumers.

The company expects its appliance sales this year to grow roughly 50 percent from the previous year to ¥73 billion ($644 million).