The Hindu Business Line : Panasonic eyes 10 pc GSM handset market

THE Japanese diversified electronics major Panasonic, a relatively late entrant into the Indian GSM handset market, has charted out plans that seeks to capture about 8-10 per cent pie by the year end riding on the launch of at least one handset model a month.

The Managing Director of Panasonic India, Mr Masaaki Ikezaki, told Business Line that the Indian telecom market had emerged as one of the priority markets for Panasonic. "As a part of India plans, we plan to launch about 14 models of GSM handsets, where the idea is to launch at least one model a month. We are aiming to reach the number three position in the Indian market and capture 8-10 percent of the market share during this financial year."

"We have a market share of about 2 per cent now here as against 5 per cent globally. The Indian market, led by Nokia now, is estimated to grow by about 17-18 million this year. We have nominated Tech Pacific as a distributor for India and thereby get access to about 6,000 dealer outlets. This would be backed by advertisements and marketing push in the extremely competitive market," he said.

"As of now, we do not have any plans to manufacture handsets in India and may be when volumes actually grow significantly, we could consider that option. Currently, we are sourcing these handsets from the Philippines and Malaysia. With a range of high-end handsets, Panasonic plans to consolidate the Indian market with the launch of new models with additional features," he explained.

"It would be difficult for me to comment on whether the budget would help bring down costs. But a further cut is always desirable as it would ultimately benefit the consumers. With the new Government in place, let us see if favourable policies still continue for the telecom sector", he said.

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