Colour Tv Sales Slump By 20%

Most industry representatives blame the sharp fall in sales to the ongoing liquidity crunch.

Sales in August have been marginally better, though official figures are not yet available. TV industry sources say: "The correction for August cannot be more than 10 per cent with a definite possibility of a sharp fall in sales in the December-February period just before the budget is due."

The industry's performance in the first four months of the current fiscal year has upset its projections. Against sales of 18 lakh CTV sets in 1995-96, the industry was hoping to sell 20 lakh sets in 1996-97. But now, such a target is beyond reach. During April-July 1996, sales of CTV sets were estimated at 3.85 lakh, compared with 4.85 lakh in the same period of 1995.

 

Says Mirc Electronics chairman and managing director G L Mirchandani: "The first five months have witnessed a fall of nearly 12 per cent in the B&W market, and with all possible corrections the year would still end with a negative growth of around six per cent."

Even Byung Mun Park, managing director of Samsung India Electronics, agrees, "After a reasonable first quarter in 1996 a recessionary phase has set in, though we expect the trend to correct itself by the year-end." He admits, however, that even if there is any growth it would only be marginal.

"Both Onida and Philips are expected to be hit by the slump in the B&W market, with Onida expecting to touch just 6.75 lakh units for the financial year 1997 compared with 7.35 lakh in 1996; for the same period, Philips would sell less than 6 lakh units compared to 6.25 lakh units. Only

Videocon is expected to hold its ground," an industry source said.

S K Shelgikar, adviser to Videocon, felt it was too early to deduce any clear trend. Figures ofindividual companies for the first four months, according to industry sources, indicate that almost all the major CTV manufacturers have suffered.

Unofficial figures suggest Videocon notched up just 1.09 lakh units for the period April-July, BPL managed 1.08 lakh, Onida 0.96 lakh and Philips 0.72 lakh, which confirms the approximate 20-per cent drop in the CTV market compared to the identical period last year. Sales of B&W TV sets have also shown no significant rise in this period./BODY>