As per regulatory filings made by the company to Registrar of Companies (RoC) and accessed through business intelligence platform Veratech Intelligence, the Korean firm reported a drop in television sales by 8.6% to Rs 3,444.98 crore in 2018-19.
Industry watchers attribute it to their weakening brand pull among younger customers and premium pricing vis a vis Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi and TCL, particularly at a time when Indian consumers are cutting down on consumer spending. The Korean duo of LG and Samsung have so far resisted the Chinese onslaught by dropping prices.
BBK's two leading brands - Oppo and Vivo have doubled their combined India revenue between April and September this year to Rs 34,500 crore, according to their latest regulatory filings.
Samsung is about to sign a deal with homegrown contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies to manufacture television sets up to 55 inches in screen size, sources said. These account for more than 85% of the Indian market. The company is evaluating options with other contract manufacturers to further expand local TV production in India, they added.
Weighed down by heavy debt, the Videocon group with 13 operating companies, was sent to bankruptcy court last year and a resolution is pending. But now the Videocon Group employees union, which has been on a chain sit-in since the past 72 days, has decided to stage a sit-in at the residence of Venugopal Dhoot, the group chairman, from Thursday seeking pending salaries.
While premium products like large screen televisions, frostfree refrigerators and fully automatic washing machines did sell in cities and large towns driven by plethora of consumer finance options and price cuts — sales of entry-level products which constitute the belly of the market — were a washout, several manufacturers said.
The proposed shift out of China by Flex, one of the world’s largest exporter of electronics goods, comes amid the continuing Sino-US trade war. It coincides with India’s efforts to attract global manufacturers that may be looking to move out of what is popularly called the ‘world’s factory.’
Xiaomi assembles all its TVs, except the recently launched 65-inch model, in India. However, a majority of components including the open cell TV panels are still imported because they aren’t made locally.
Hong-Kong-based NewQuest Capital, via its NewQuest Asia Investment II, bought the business from Actis for an undisclosed sum in 2016. Before that, Actis bought the general lighting business of Halonix (formerly Phoenix Lamps) for an enterprise value of Rs 160 cr.
Reliance has signed brand licensing & distribution deal with Electrolux to relaunch Kelvinator refrigerator. Under the more than 10-year contract, Reliance will shortly relaunch the Kelvinator refrigerator and other appliances.
Charles Peng, Honor India President told ET that the company will price its products competitively for the Indian market, and will also launch a slew of smart devices like speakers.
Last year, Taiwan-based TPV Technology had received the rights for Philips' TV range as well as audio products for the Indian market that includes aspects like manufacturing, marketing and sales.
The company also said that C.K. Venkataraman, who was the CEO of the jewellery business since 2005, has taken over the role of MD with effect from October 1.
