Soccer-crazy states fuel CTV sales

MUMBAI: India’s colour television majors are shifting focus away from major metros and training their eyes on the traditionally soccer crazy states to push sales.

While CTV sales across the country have not been all that good, it has surged in states like West Bengal, Assam, Goa, Kerala and Orissa where companies have recorded a 50-60% jump in sales. Manufacturers had designed game-centric products, used attractive promotional schemes and extended warranty periods for these states.

Metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai have seen very low CTV sales in the recent past. “CTV sales in metros are not event-driven. What really happens is that during such events customers upgrade from a 25” or a 29” CTV to an LCD or a plasma. Even after making the product price competitive, sales are in small numbers,” said a Mumbai-based consumer durable dealer.

Most CTV dealers in and around the Eastern states have reported a sharp increase in sales during this month. In particular, the demand has been for low-end, CTVs priced between Rs 16,000 and Rs 20,000 and for high-end flat screen televisions that come with exciting exchange offers.

Brands such as LG, Samsung, Onida, Videocon and Philips have particularly been in demand among soccer lovers. Interestingly most CTV majors had set aside huge promotion budgets and revised targets for the quarter, sources said.

The CTV majors had schemes running specifically for the soccer crazy states. LG for instance, is targeting sales of 2 lakh colour televisions through a special offer in West Bengal and the North-East.

Since the beginning of ’05, business has been very tough for many consumer durable dealers and manufacturers, but they had been reassured that World Cup ’06 would provide the fillip to bring in a substantial chunk of additional business, sources said. Consumer durables sales continue to display sluggish trends, with primary sales (manufacturer to dealer) hitting new lows.

However, secondary sales (dealer to consumer) have picked up marginally, with dealers stepping up discounts and promotional offers to clear up existing inventory levels. Durable majors like LG, Videocon, Philips, Onida and others have pruned production and imports by 22-25% since the last quarter of ’05.

Currently, 60% of the domestic demand, is met by local manufacturing and the rest through imports. Consumer durables prices across segments are the lowest in the country since the past five years. Despite the recent hike in input prices, companies were unable to pass on the hike to consumers, manufacturers said.