Among the welter of commercials leaping out from the TV during the IPL is one by Godrej Appliances. A young dandy announces that Godrej is unveiling a new fridge but two other young men pop into the screen with an air-conditioner. This goes on to his further pronouncements of a fridge being brought in. But, no, they bring in anything but a fridge: a microwave, washing machine and finally a flat screen TV.

Mr Kamal Nandi, Executive Vice-President (Marketing & Sales), Godrej Appliances, says the TV commercial, which could run for more than a year, has been made precisely for that reason: that consumers associated the Godrej brand too closely with refrigerators and the brand needed to show that it has more gadgets in its portfolio.

In Chennai recently for the launch of its TVs in the Tamil Nadu market, Mr Nandi said the challenge for a hoary home-grown brand such as Godrej has been to connect with youth. Secondly, the company needed to envelop itself in ‘tech sheen' to take on the MNCs, which have built up a perception of their tech edge through consumer electronics. “No durables or appliances company is considered complete unless it has a significant presence in the consumer electronics segment. Now, with the launch of our TVs, we can also showcase our technology,” says Mr Nandi. The other challenge, says Mr Nandi, is to constantly build its “style quotient”.

Godrej has launched a range of flat panel display TVs and CRT (cathode ray tube) TVs in the TN market. The market is dominated by Korean players Samsung and LG, followed by Japanese brands Sony and Panasonic besides other Japanese and Chinese brands. Home-grown brands such as Videocon and Onida too have considerable play in the market.

How innovative can Godrej be to break into this crowded market? “Our TVs will offer enhanced picture quality with newer technology,” says Mr Nandi. Besides, it has launched a range of interactive gaming televisions too which combine the features of a gaming console with an LCD TV, featuring 25 pre-loaded games. The joystick's motion sensor allows one to experience gaming technology, even swinging a racquet, throwing darts and bowling down an alley right inside your living room. The company imports these products from a few contract manufacturers in Turkey.

The new range of LCD and LED TVs is available at a price of Rs 15,000 to Rs 62,000 and CRT TVs are available at price points between Rs 5,100 to Rs 8,600. With all these products, Godrej targets to sell at least 5,000 units of FPD TVs in the first year. The size of the Indian FPD market is currently a little over four million units.

In the Rs 35,000-crore durables market, which is growing at 12 per cent year-on-year, Godrej is a significant player. According to Mr Nandi, its refrigerator is the flagship category for the company contributing 60 per cent of its turnover. Air-conditioners contribute 15 per cent and washing machines and CTVs around 12 per cent each.

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