Audio major Sennheiser enters India

NEW DELHI: German audio equipment major Sennheiser has announced its entry into the Indian market. Sennheiser, which was earlier serving the Indian market through its sole Asian subsidiary based in Singapore, has now formed a separate Indian subsidiary. In India Sennheiser would be led by Sharmila Sahai who was roped in from Philips India some time back.

The manufacturer of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission products also distributes products under other brands such as Neumann. For the year ending 2005, Sennheiser had global sales of € 300 million.

Sennheiser would be eyeing an Indian market estimated at Rs 285 crore for its products. Out of the total, about Rs 100 crore is in the professional equipment market while the rest is in the consumer market which includes products used by the call centres. Out of the total about 60% of the market is believed to be under the grey market.

Sennheiser is targeting to capture 7% market share in the first year. The current key target markets include Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The company is targeting market share of 28% by 2011.