Moser Baer plans LCD TV unit at Chennai

Moser Baer, the global technology company which recently started selling consumer electronics products in India, plans to set up an LCD television manufacturing unit in Chennai by next year.

Currently, all its electronics goods like DVDs, LCDs, speakers, etc, are imported and sold under its brand name here.

According to sources in the company, Moser Baer will achieve sales volume of more than 15,000 LCDs per month which is the volume it had set a target for to justify setting up a manufacturing plant in India.

The company recently set up a digital video processing facility in Chennai. The facility will provide real time audio and video restoration of content apart from DVD compression and authoring services. The new fracility will be connected to Moser Baer's media and entertainment services division serving domestic and international customers. It will also provide compression and authoring services to Moser Baer's own entertainment business.

The consumer electronics plant in Chennai is expected to be close to its existing manufacturing unit.

Among other plans, Moser Baer is targeting 15-20 per cent market share of the consumer electronics segment in 2009-2010.

Moser Baer plans to introduce high-definition DVD players this year, priced at Rs 3,990, as well as 2.1 and 5.1 channel speakers, targeting the rural markets. It will also introduce new range of LCD televisions in premium and lower-end categories. These will be priced between Rs 14,500 and Rs 24,500 for 19 inch to 26 inch LCDs.

In eastern India, the company has set a target of selling 55,000 DVDs this financial year, 4,500 LCDs, 2,000 digital photoframes, and 4,000 MP3 and MP4 players, sources said.