Sanyo BPL takes its first step forward, cautiously

Sanyo BPL , the recently formed 50:50 joint venture between Sanyo and BPL, is finally back in circulation after crossing many hurdles. The company on Tuesday, announcing its plans for the next three years, said that it wanted to touch a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore by then.

The company will be investing heavily in the dual-brand strategy for Sanyo and BPL products and the first priority is to get the products back on the shelves. Ajit Nambiar, chairman & CEO, Sanyo BPL said, "The BPL brand still has a good recall among Indian consumers and we are making the products available across a wide dealership network on an immediate basis."

He believed that Sanyo and BPL, in tandem, would create an "impressive platform of global, technologically advanced products for the Indian consumer. We are aiming to achieve a market share of 16 per cent over the next three years in the colour TV segment."

While the BPL brand will be used for the volume segment of CTVs, the Sanyo brand will be positioned at the high-end segment of the market with plasma and hi-definition TVs. The JV, started on a equity base of nearly Rs 100 crore, will offer the complete range of consumer electronics, home appliances and digital imaging products from the Sanyo stable.

Added Keiji Oshima, president & COO, Sanyo BPL, "We are excited to be in India and are totally committed to growing the market. We are bringing the best on offer from Sanyo, which reflects the importance of this market. We expect India to contribute 5 per cent to our global sales in the years to come."

While the CTVs will be manufactured at the company's unit in Bangalore, Sanyo BPL is also looking at the option of relying on OEMs in North India to avoid the high burden of sales tax. The JV will also be a key sourcing base for Sanyo for the 21 inch super slim television. The company is also looking at introducing CDMA handsets in due course.