A Ruptured Consensus?

The first quarter of this year (January-March) has witnessed a re-alignment in the Indian colour televisions market, with BPL dethroning Videocon as the leader even as new multinational entrants like Samsung and LG have gained further ground at the expense of some established names.

The size of the Indian colour TV market is projected to growth over 25 per cent this year to touch about 3 million to 3.2 million sets this year.

A survey by market research agency ORG for the three months shows that Videocon, the market leader during the first quarter of 1998 with 19.9 per cent share of the market, has seen a sharp erosion in its market share to 14.4 per cent.

 

The market share of BPL, on the other hand, remains more or less static at 19.4 per cent compared with 19.8 per cent during January-March 1998.

Onida, marketed by MIRC Electronics, has however improved its position to reach within striking distance of Videocon. Its share of the market has surged to 11.8 per cent from 8.2 per cent in the same period.

The turnaround in Onida's fortunes, at a low ebb a couple of years ago, has been accompanied by a fresh marketing thrust by the Mirchandanis of MIRC Electronics, including new and cheeky advertising campaigns that have discarded the legendary Devil to the dustbin.

Another old-timer gaining ground is Philips, which is perceived as very much an Indian company in spite of the ownership lying with a Dutch multinational. Launch of a slew of high technology products has pushed up its share of the market to 7.8 per cent from 6.4 per cent.

Samsung India Electronics, a subsidiary of South Korean chaebol of the same name, has established itself as the leader among new multinational entrants, increasing its share of the market to 7.7 per cent from 6 per cent.

LG Electronics India, a subsidiary of another South Korean chaebol LG Electronics, has also consolidated its position with 5.2 per cent share of the market, up from 2.1 per cent.

The market share of Akai, which occupied the number three position in January-March 1998 with 14.2 per cent market share, has been fast disappearing ever since its break-up with the Mulchandanis of Baron International.