Sennheiser ready for single-brand foray, but wants easier norms

KOLKATA: Specialty German audio firm Sennheiser Consumer Electronics is keen to set up company-owned stories in India if the government relaxes the sourcing norms under single-brand retail FDI. For the moment, though, it will continue to expand its network of franchisee-owned stores.

Sennheiser Electronics India MD Gunjan Srivastava said the company wants to set up eight stores in the top cities. The first of these will be unveiled in Kolkata on Tuesday.

India is a major potential market for the company, he said, and "we want to expand our presence in the consumer market aggressively," said Srivastava.

The Indian operation, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the German firm, sells more than 100 models of headphones for various usage such as running, smartphones, gaming, chatting, noise cancellation and DJ, as well as professional audio equipment and speakers under the Neumann brand.

Srivastava declined to share Sennheiser's sales figures for India, but said the Indian operation is growing at 40-45% and currently contributes 12% to APAC sales.

Sennheiser Electronics group VP sales (APAC) Eric Denise said the company is also keen to set-up a research facility in the region, and India is one of the top contenders. "We currently have two such facilities in the US and Germany. India has a huge potential due to the country's strong IT and system integration knowledge base," Denise said.