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Mr Masaru Tamagawa

Bindu D. Menon

New Delhi, July 16 Japanese durables brand Sony India is unfazed by competition from Korean durables majors entrenching into the Indian market.

Stating that Sony will maintain its premium tag, Mr Masaru Tamagawa, Managing Director, Sony India, said the company is also looking to expand its Software Development Centre in Bangalore.

Speaking to Business Line on the sidelines of the launch of the new Bravia W, V and S television series, in the range of 20-52 inches, he said Sony is targeting 40 per cent market share in the LCD category.

Japanese companies seem to be losing grounds to Korean durables majors in India. How well is Sony geared up to take competition?

At the moment, we are unfazed by competition. We follow customer segmentation and our target consumer is one with an annual income of Rs 5 lakh and above.

According to official statistics, India will have 40 million such households by 2010. This will be our core target audience for our products.

Is not having a manufacturing facility in India a hindrance to the company’s growth? Will Sony set up a facility in near term?

Not having a facility has never been a hindrance. We import from our various global operations.

The prices of LCDs have eroded over a time period and we hope to be the leader in the segment. The availability of quality electronic component in India is a challenge and hence it will not be prudent to set up a facility even in the medium term.

Is there sluggishness in the durables sector? Has input costs affected you?

We don’t perceive any slow down in the television and camcorder category. The demand has been steady. However, the depreciating rupee has made the import of electronic components dearer. We have, however, not passed on the burden to the consumer so far.

Are you looking to expand the software centre in Bangalore? What is the turnover that Sony is eyeing in India?

The Sony Software Centre in Bangalore acts as a base for the global operations. We have around 350 engineers and will be expanding it this year. As for the turnover, Sony India had clocked a turnover of Rs 3,000 crore and this year we hope to achieve a 30 per cent growth.

What is the retail strategy for India?

We are firming up our presence in organised retail as it will be a major revenue channel for us. We will be investing around Rs 60 crore towards marketing activities for our LCD and camcorder ranges.

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