New Delhi, Aug 18: Daewoo Anchor Electronics Ltd is set to unleash a Rs 26-crore advertising and promotion blitz starting mid-September in a fresh bid to establish the brand in the country and create customer pull for its product. The company plans to offer exchange schemes, a zero-interest finance offer on an ongoing basis in association with TransAmerica Apple Distribution Finance, and a host of other deals which would improve the brand's marketshare in the country.The exact details would be finalised in the next few weeks after the new managing director S H Suh takes charge, according to Daewoo Anchor Electronics' assistant general manager, marketing Sudhir Mathur. The campaign is also expected to drive home the message that despite the tremors of change in Korea, the Daewoo Anchor brand is here to stay.
This round of brand building exercise will see the company spend a large part of its budget on advertising on the electronic media. Until now Daewoo Anchor had restricted its advertising to the print media and outdoors.``We will shift our focus towards creating consumer pull for the brand during the current year,'' Mathur says, adding that the push strategy would, nevertheless, continue through the dealer counters. He reasons that the larger line-up of products as well as better reach of the company through an expanded distribution network warranted advertising on the television channels. Daewoo products are retailed through 2,000 outlets across the country at present. The company expects to increase that number to 3,000 by November this year.
Simultaneously, it is expanding its product portfolio to make a foray into new segments such as the audios and semi-automatic washing machines. In the near future, the company proposes to introduce new products with superior features at very competitive prices, Mathur adds. This will include the launch of single-speaker televisions for rural market consumers as also new premium 21-inch and 29-inch models for the upmarket segment. The flat series of televisions are also being lined up for launch by year-end.
The semi-automatic washing machines, manufactured at the company's facility at Ranjangaon, Pune, is being test marketed in Maharashtra. The product-in three models of 6 kg washing capacity-is due to be launched by October 1999. The fully-imported high-end audio systems would be launched by November 1999, while two models of the video compact disc (VCD) player have already been introduced. The company is also planning a major thrust in the microwaves market with three models lined up for launch this month and another three models by November 1999.
The company expects to end the calender year with market share of four to five per cent in colour televisions, 17 per cent for frost-free refrigerator segment, six per cent for fully automatic washing machines, and 30 per cent for microwave ovens. Meanwhile, the company has set a sales target of Rs 1,100 crore to be achieved by year 2000 and Rs 2,000 crore to be achieved by year 2003.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.