Aiwa, the latest entrant in the fiercely competitive colour televisions market, has emerged the second-largest player in May, notching up sales of approximately 73,000 sets. Mulchandani appears to have gained at the expense of Videocon, a traditional number two. The combined sales of the four brands marketed by Videocon -- Videocon, Akai, Sansui and Toshiba -- is estimated to be just about 90,000 sets in May. Other estimates put the figure at 80,000 sets. Market leader BPL retained its numero uno position with sales of 82,000 sets during the month, though its market share may have shrunk a little.

Industry sources estimate that a total of 5 lakh colour televisions, as against earlier estimates of 4.5 lakh sets, may have been sold in the country during the month when theleague matches were in progress. Sources added that between April and May, the TV companies have sold over 8.5 lakh sets. In contrast, the average monthly sales last year were approximately 2.5 lakh sets, with offtake peaking at 3 lakh sets during May last year. Between April and May last year, the industry is estimated to have sold over 5.5 lakh sets.

A number of other brands, too, have reported spectacular sales, though they appear rather pale when compared with Aiwa's achievements -- especially considering the brand was introduced a little over six months ago in the country.

Sansui was another major gainer of the World Cup frenzy, notching up sales of 30,000-35,000 sets, courtesy a money-back scheme offered by the Videocon group.

The Korean brands LG and Samsung, too, have reported improved sales. Both companies have exceeded their targets, confided the company executives. LG sold about 46,500 sets during the last month, while Samsung claimed it sold 60,000 sets.

LG could partly attribute itssuccess to the official sponsor of the World Cup tag. The company had roped in three cricketers of the 1983 winning team -- Madan Lal, Roger Binny and Mohinder Amarnath -- to anchor contests.

Samsung, on the other hand, had freebies and prizes thrown in, even as cricketing legend Kapil Dev anchored its advertising campaigns.

Philips, which was seen as fuddy-duddy brand until it unveiled a new positioning targetting the younger generation of consumers, succeeded in giving the nimble footed Korean companies a run for their money, notching up sales estimated at 35,000-45,000 sets last month. Special World Cup prices coupled with contests helped the company catch the consumers' fancy, observed industry watchers. Onida, too, reported strong offtake with sales during the month crossing the 40,000 mark. Industry sources estimate the company may have sold as many as 45,000 sets in May. Videocon, which has for long held the number two slot in the domestic market, could barely sell as many sets as the Koreanbrands. According to one estimate, the company sold 47,000 sets in May, while another estimate put its sales at 35,000 sets. Akai, relaunched by the Dhoot family-controlled Videocon early this year, sold 15,000-18,000 sets during the month.

Sony managed to sell around 20,000 sets after it offered special World Cup prices. Industry estimates brands such as Thompson and Sharp sold 15,000 sets each, while Panasonic and Daewoo sold about 6,000-7,000 sets each.