Sony Expects TV Sales in India to Grow 70%

Source from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704900004576151741611604626.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

TOKYO—The head of Sony Corp.'s India operations said Friday the Japanese electronics giant expects growth of more than 70% in flat-panel television sales in India, as it keeps up with expanding demand and maintains its leading market share against its South Korean rivals.

Sony can realize such robust sales growth of liquid-crystal-display TVs in one of Asia's fastest growing markets without aggressively cutting retail prices, thanks mainly to effective promotions and customer targeting, said Masaru Tamagawa, managing director of Sony India Pvt.

That kind of sales growth would keep Sony as the top seller of flat TVs in India, where the Japanese firm together with South Korean rivals LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., command an 80% share in terms of sales volume.

Aggressive promotional spending to strengthen its brand image and efforts to build close ties with local dealers have helped the company boost sales without relying on discounts to stimulate demand, Mr. Tamagawa said.

"We are making necessary preparations to fight back whenever and however [South Korean rivals] come after us," Mr. Tamagawa told reporters.

Sony expects to sell about 1.5 million LCD TVs in the next fiscal year starting April, up from 850,000 estimated for the current year.

That sales increase would allow the company to maintain the largest share of India's liquid crystal display TV market of between 33% and 35% in the year ending March 2011, Mr. Tamagawa said.

Flat-panel TV demand in India is expected to expand by some 1.5 million units to 4.5 million units in the year to March 2011.

Sony's sales of other digital devices, including camcorders and personal computers, are also growing strongly in India, Mr. Tamagawa said.

The company also has the leading share of India's digital camera and camcorder markets.

In the Indian PC market, Sony trails Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., with a share of around 9%. But this is enough to generate attractive profits, Mr. Tamagawa said.