Anand Ramamoorthy, Country Head and MD, India operations, Harman International (India) — G.R.N. Somashekar | Photo Credit: G. R. N. SOMASHEKAR
US electronics-maker Harman International, which owns brands such as JBL and Harman Kardon, plans to offer some of its products for less than Rs 10,000.
Anand Ramamoorthy, Country Head and Managing Director, India Operations, Harman International (India), said that the company was following a three-pronged approach focused on product, brand and reach. He said the company’s global design teams have made it possible for them to offer over 25 products for less than Rs 10,000.
Oscar-winning music composer A.R. Rahman will be the brand ambassador for the company. To reach more customers, the company is tweaking its distribution strategy by offering products at large retail stores as well as exclusive shops across the country.
Pune plant
Harman’s India office in Bangalore, which became operational in 2009, has over 750 people, including 250 who work out of an offshore development centre. Its manufacturing plant in Pune will be operational in the third quarter of this year (Harman’s financial year is the same as calendar year), and its work for Tata and Fiat will be executed out of this plant. The first phase will be focused on building scalable, next-generation infotainment systems.
Ramamoorthy said contribution of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) to its revenue had gone up to 12 per cent in 2012 from 1 per cent in financial year 2008. By 2015, it is expected to increase to 25 per cent, he added.
The India operations head said the company planned to further “rebalance our employee footprint to improve our operational performance globally.” To achieve that, the global teams are working towards a certain target for achieving better savings.
He said India will soon have a global centre of excellence for research and development for automotive cloud services.
Published on February 27, 2013
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