Cup debacle slows down TV sales

INDIA’Signominous exit from the World Cup appears to be having a ripple effect on the offtake of TV sets. Leading consumer electronics makers like LG, Sony, Onida and Haier have just indicated a sizeable 15-30% shortfall in their World Cup TV sales targets. CETMA, the apex consumer electronics industry body, had set an ambitious target of 9 lakh CTV sales during March ‘07 alone, when the World Cup spirit was slated to peak. “The industry will not be able to achieve this target following India’s debacle. Huge inventories have already piled up which will take some time to clear,” said Suresh Khanna, secretary general of CETMA told ET. Accordingly, TV makers are reworking their sales strategy to ensure a steady offtake in April. Most hope that the ensuing marriage season in the Hindi heartland will supplement the loss in sales and help tide over the lean period. Most companies are also cutting down on the production cycle due to huge inventory pile-up. Incidentally, till the crucial India-Sri Lanka match, the TV sales of all these companies were as per expectations. For example, Onida had registered a 20% growth in its sales till India’s exit from the World Cup. Sony India’ division head (display) Yoshiki Yamanokuchi said: “March saw rapid sales, both in LCD and CRT categories. However, the early exit of the Indian team has ended the hope of achieving over 100 % growth.” LG, a mega World Cup sponsor, had targeted 70% growth in TV sales for the March-April period. “But sales started limping after India lost to Bangladesh. We are going to change our sales and marketing strategy to ensure at least 50% growth in sales,” LG Electronics India’s national head (consumer electronics) Amitabh Tiwari said.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes
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