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World Cup fever sends colour TV sales soaring

India's sensational victory against Pakistan at Manchester today, even as it kept alive the possibility of the team entering the semifinal phase of World Cup cricket, has brought fresh cheer to the colour television industry in India.

If India does make it to the next phase of the tournament, it may help drive sales further up, industry analysts said. They pointed out that more than 500,000 sets were sold in May alone.

The industry registered a 40 per cent growth in May compared to sales in April. For the first time, the total CTV sales in 1999-2000 are likely to exceed five million units compared to 375,000 last year.

''Companies which launched aggressive marketing schemes backed with strong advertising campaigns have benefitted a lot,'' said K S Raman, president of the Consumer Electronics and Television Manufacturers' Association or Cetma.

''Indians are crazy about cricket and the growth in sales was expected,'' he said. The most dramatic jump has been in the segment of models priced below Rs 13,000 -- basically those in 14-inch and 21-inch categories.

Two more noticeable trends emerged, thanks to World Cup frenzy. One, sales were significantly up in smaller towns. And two, the second TV concept caught up relentlessly in major metros.

''We also see the changing consumer's buying patterns due to lowering of prices,'' Raman said. ''People want the latest products with additional features. On the other hand, manufacturers are willing to trim profit margins if sales volumes increase.''

Industry experts say the CTV makers spent nearly Rs 1 billion for World Cup advertising and promotion campaigns.

''It is a big risk taken by Indian companies and we are seeing never-before figures,'' said Sunil Vachani, chairman and managing director of Dixon Utilities and Exports Limited, the country's largest original equipment manufacturer supplier which makes CTVs for Philips, LG Electronics and Thomson.

''The industry has got a quantum jump due to World Cup cricket and we hope that innovative marketing techniques will continue with same aggressiveness to sustain the buoyancy in market,'' Vachani said.

Dixon makes 500,000 CTVs annually at its three units -- one in NOIDA and two in Mohali. Its production went up 40 per cent in May, with 14-inch segment showing a 100 per cent growth.

Sources in the industry say Videocon's sales of CTVs last month (including Sansui and Toshiba brands) totalled 1.15 lakh while BPL sold 105,000 units. Aiwa and Hitachi being marketed by Baron International marked sales of 80,000 CTVs.

Among Korean companies, Samsung took the lead and sold 60,000 sets while LG Electronics sold 46,000 units. The sales of other manufacturers were Onida 62,000, Philips 34,000, Sony 30,000, Thomson 23,000, Crown 12,000 and Salora 8,000.

R Zutshi, vice-president of Samsung India's sales division, said the company marked 175 per cent increase in CTV sales during May 1999 over the performance in same period last year.

Samsung is using former cricket captain Kapil Dev as a brand ambassador in its campaigns.

''Our new advertising campaigns around product line-up introduction is well-timed with the world cup. This is having a positive rub off on the sales.''

However, industry sources said, the sales of most CTVs may see a dip after June-end. Till then, cash registers of CTV makers continue to ring.

UNI

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