Television brand Philips, which was out of the Indian market for a span of about a year-and-a-half, is expecting to grab a significant share of the TV market backed by new product launches and expansion of the retail network.

Philips TV, which was being manufactured by Videocon Industries in India from 2010 under a brand-licensing agreement, went out of the market in the latter part of 2017, as its licensee had stopped production following financial woes.

Taiwan-based TPV Technology, which had taken over the rights in key global markets such as Europe and China for Royal Philips’ TV in 2010, bagged the brand licence for the Indian market in June 2018. TPV is one of the largest manufacturers of monitors and LCD/LED TVs globally, with its own brand AOC and as a OEM for large global brands.

According to Arun Menon, Country Head, Philips branded television and audio, TPV Technology India Pvt Ltd, plans are afoot to be among the top five TV brands for television in India by the end of 2020.

The company is also looking at a 50 per cent growth in its audio business next year, led primarily by wireless home audio, headphones and bluetooth speakers. “We have seen a slowdown across industries this year and television and audio are no exception. We have started seeing demand picking up in audio, while in television we expect to see traction this festival season starting October,” Menon told BusinessLine .

Festival season sales (between August-October) account for nearly 35 per cent of the company’s total business during a year.

The television market is quite cluttered with a number of brands vying to grab a share of the pie. The top three or four brands currently dominate around 70 per cent of the TV market in India.

Philips, which claims to enjoy brand loyalty, particularly in the southern and eastern markets, is looking to ride on its brand image as it expands its footprint across the country.

“We are looking to come up with a targeted campaign, aimed at the younger generation, through digital marketing initiatives over the next 12 months,” he said.

In the TV segment, the company currently has seven SKUs, and plans to roll out seven more by the second quarter of next year.

Retail footprint

Since the beginning of 2019, when Philips TV made its reappearance in the market under brand licensee agreement with TPV, the company has managed to establish a presence across 3,500 outlets. The aim is to take this up to 7,000 outlets by the year-end. The expansion will be across major cities and towns.

Philips would focus on establishing the retail channel over the next six-to-seven months before embarking on an aggressive marketing campaign starting next festival season.

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