Godrej plans to go solo in colour TV manufacturing

Godrej Appliances plans to enter the colour televisions segment. The company will start with a pilot project soon which will be extended into a full-fledged foray into the segment under its own brand. This puts to rest market expectations of it tying up with an MNC like Japanese major Panasonic.

Godrej Appliances is getting ready to enter the biggest consumer durable product category —both in volume and value — in the country, colour televisions (CTVs). The appliances manufacturer is going to start with a pilot project in a few months which would be extended into a full-fledged entry into the segment under its own brand. This puts to rest market expectations of it tying up with a multinational company like Japanese major Panasonic which had evinced an interest in partnering Godrej in the past.
The consumer durable arm of privately-held Rs 4,000-crore Godrej & Boyce is eyeing both the mass market as well as the top-end segment such as LCD televisions. While the picture tube-based flat-screen televisions in all categories, including entry-level 14’’ and higher-end 29’’ screen products, would be sourced from third party manufacturers in the country, LCD televisions would be imported and sold under the Godrej brand.
“We want to build scale and one of the ways is to extend the brand presence in other product segments beyond appliances and televisions is a natural choice. We will be designing the products with a differentiating factor at the pilot project time itself and depending on the response, we would go for a national launch in the middle of 2009,” said Godrej Appliances vice-president, sales & marketing, Kamal Nandi.
Appliances division, which had revenues of around Rs 1,000 crore in FY07, is hoping to close FY08 with a turnover of Rs 1,400 crore, about 35% of Godrej & Boyce. Initially, Godrej was largely a refrigerator manufacturer. It later extended its brand reach into categories like airconditioners, microwave ovens, DVD players and washing machines. Godrej’s plan include entry into the small appliances market in the country, which is largely fed by unorganised sector.