India is Sony’s number four market in contribution to global sales after the US, China and Japan. However, India has the potential to break into Sony’s top three markets, as the company is witnessing growth in metro and upcountry markets around the country, said Kenichiro Hibi, Managing Director, Sony India Pvt Ltd.

Having grown the company’s revenue by 20 per cent in FY2017, Hibi is targeting over 20 per cent growth in revenue for the current fiscal, fuelled in large part by sales of Sony Bravia TVs priced from ₹16,900 for 24 inch models to ₹9,99,900 for 85 inch models.

“TVs constitute the biggest portion of our revenues followed by audio products, cameras and smartphones. We launched two Sony Bravia OLED TVs last month, a 55 inch TV for ₹3,64,900 and a 65 inch TV for ₹4,64,900. The demand for TVs in India is growing at 10-15 per cent with over 10 million units being sold last fiscal. For us, the biggest volume drivers are the 24 inch - 32 inch TVs,” Hibi told BusinessLine . The ASP (average selling price) for TVs is highest in Bengaluru while Kolkata contributes the highest in volumes, he said.

To support growth in TV sales, the company started assembling TVs in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu two years ago and is also assembling pen drives, memory cards and optical disks in Noida.

New smartphone models

In line with its positioning as a premium brand, Sony is all set to launch two new smartphone models in the mid-high price segment from ₹15,000-25,000 next month, when festival shopping begins in full swing. The company exited the entry level, sub-₹10,000 smartphone market three years ago, as it wants to play in the premium/super premium segments only.

“We maintain a price premium across our entire product range, at all price levels, as Sony is a ‘premium’ brand globally. While the 24 inch TVs that we sell for ₹16,900 are available for ₹10,000 by other brands; our sound quality, picture quality, the design and materials used are far superior to other brands and hence the premium pricing. We maintain a price premium of 10-20 per cent compared to other brands, across all categories of products that we sell. The Sony Xperia XZ Premium smartphone launched in February is priced at ₹59,990 but offers a high-end TV function with 4K HDR technology and a high-end camera function for that price,” said Hibi.

Marketing spend

Sony has set aside ₹500 crore for marketing spend this fiscal, which will include a national TV campaign in English supported by regional print ad campaigns. “The festival season is the biggest time for us and shopping peaks during Dhanteras and Diwali,” said Hibi.

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