The Hindu Business Line : Casio India pitches in line with musicians

AFTER striking a chord with amateur musicians, the Rs 50-crore Casio India Company Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the $6-billion Casio Group, is now targeting serious music lovers through its recently launched array of professional musical instruments, largely keyboards.

Elaborating on the USP of its new products, Mr Ashish Jain, Head of Sales (Electronic Musical Instruments and Calculators), Casio India Company, said, "These instruments are ideal for musicians interested in creating and composing their own music as these models can be linked to a computer and can function as virtual digital studios in the convenience of a home."

Musical instruments contribute about 20 per cent to the total turnover of Casio India. Agreeing that the bigger keyboard category has a very niche market, Mr Jain said, "This year the focus will be on this category. In value terms we expect a sales of about Rs 3 crore-Rs 5 crore from it."

Commenting on the recently launched keyboards, which include the WK-3500, WK-3000 and CTK-691 models, he stated that these models were equipped with a unique Internet data expansion system that makes it possible to download tone waveforms from the Internet. Further, the downloaded tones can be transferred to the keyboard, enabling customisation according to individual needs, he said.

The WK-3500 and WK-3000 can also store data through the `SmartMedia' card. This card enables storage of a large volume of data. The WK 3500 model also has a built-in floppy disk drive, which can be used for additional data storage as well as to play back commercially available SMF (Standard MIDI File) disks, he said.

The WK-3500 is priced at Rs 37,995, the WK-3000 at Rs 33,995 and the CTK at Rs 19,500. These models are available at Casio's exclusive stores across the country as well as leading lifestyle stores such as Shoppers' Stop.

On promotional initiatives taken up by the company to push the sales of these instruments Mr Jain said, "We are currently running a special promotion to popularise musical instruments and are giving complimentary accessories such as carrying case and AC adaptors. We are also offering a two-year warranty." He added, "We plan to organise hobby classes with the involvement of students, teachers and schools. A specialised music club — www.casiomusicclub.com — is being set up to popularise music and enable students and teachers to have easy access to each other by providing a common platform. The Web site will list the names and addresses of music teachers in various localities to facilitate identification of a teacher closest to the student. It will also offer an array of special discounts on products, free passes to concerts, free CDs as well as contests for music from time to time."

He further said, "Also on the agenda are free musical classes on the purchase of select keyboards along with a complimentary music book with popular songs to facilitate self learning."

More Stories on : Promotions & Offers | Music & Dance | Consumer Electronics

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