TCL Corporation, a Chinese consumer electronics company, ventured into the Indian market in 2004 by establishing a 100% subsidiary, TCL Holdings India. It began with presence in South India, with the sales and marketing of colour televisions, DVD players and various home appliances. Now, the company plans to expand its market base across western and eastern India. In an interview with FE?s Sohini Mitter, E Hao, president ? overseas business centre and chief sales officer, TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings talks about TCL?s expansion plans, its brand image and challenges in the Indian market.

What is TCL?s current course of action in the India?

As a global leader and technology innovator TCL plans to expand its base across various Asian countries. After having a presence in the Indian market for 6 years, we realise that India is of strategic importance to us; there?s tremendous potential here. We have offices in all the states of south India. Now, we look forward to spreading ourselves in western and eastern India, with more branch offices, sales offices, R&D centres and a strong dealer network.

Manufacturing units will not be set up immediately. Products will be shipped from our units in China. Once we establish a good ground force, we can think of further expansion.

TCL has incurred losses in the US and European markets, early this year. It also reported capital shortages in China. In a scenario such as this, is expansion a wise decision?

We have incurred losses in some of our foreign markets. The depreciation of the euro and the preceding financial downturn were responsible for a decline in sales.

Also, we expected sales to kick off during FIFA 2010, which didn?t happen. But we are totally stable now. This year, we?ve sold 13 million TV sets and 27 million mobiles phones worldwide. We expect the sales of LCD panels and LEDs to rise. So, this was the right time to expand base.

Do you plan to launch any new product, specifically for the Indian market?

We will be concentrating on electronics to begin with. LCDs, CRTs, LEDs and mobile phones are our prime products.

The basic constitution of these products will be similar to what we make in China. But specifically for the Indian market, we plan to make changes in design, structure, colours, screen display and sound. The challenge for us is to make our products more sleek and attractive, for consumers to give us attention.

Indians are often regarded as brand loyal consumers. How will you position your product to ensure that consumers switch over?

When any expansion happens, the first phase is to build the brand in that particular market. We are positioning ourselves as a manufacturer that provides ?affordable innovation.?

Our focus has always been on product, quality and service. Cutting edge technology, durability and a good experience is what we want to give our customers.

Our local teams have done extensive research on the Indian consumer mindset and their brand preferences.

We expect to win them over with a better range of products than what our competitors offer.