Soccer frenzy tunes up TV sales

KOLKATA: With soccer fever coming to a close, smiles have broadened on the face of TV manufacturers at a time when fridge and AC sales rule the roost. Industry pundits say the TV market has grown by about 16% during the World Cup period, against the average growth rate of 6%.

The period from end-May to first week of July had kicked-up a strong demand for both flat-panel and Plasma/LCD TVs, as the manufacturers have played to the gallery with lower prices, newer models and marketing pitches honed for the soccer aficionados.

Institutional purchases of Plasma and LCD models by hotels and pubs have acted as a catalyst, with the hospitality sector donning the World Cup colours to cash-in on the festive mood.

“This is a period when normally the main action is in the home appliances space like refrigerators and air-conditioners. World Cup soccer has completely overridden our expectations of TV sales,” R Zutshi, deputy MD, Samsung India Electronics, told ET.

Samsung achieved 36% sales growth against the targeted 30%. As per ORG data, January-May saw TV sales of about 29 lakh units. Estimates suggest that while May alone has seen sales of 9 lakh units, June has seen sales of 11 lakh units.

While soccer-crazy markets like West Bengal and Kerala may have been the growth drivers with 104% and 300% sales growth respectively, the entire country has also been swept by the soccer fest.

“The retailers and stockists have exhausted their inventory stocked specially for the World Cup. The eastern market has contributed to 24% of our overall sales against the average 12-14%.

The west have grown at 44% and northern India at 16%,” said Amitabh Tiwari, national head (consumer electronics), LG Electronics India. Thanks to the huge institutional sales and drop in prices, LCD and Plasma TV sales have also skyrocketed.

“The hot favourites have been the 42-inch Plasma and 32-inch LCD models. The sales growth in this segment has nearly doubled from mid-May onwards,” said Pranay Dhabhai, director, Haier Appliances India.