Mirc consolidates position in tough market

Mona Mehta in Mumbai

The Rs 747-crore Mirc Electronics Ltd — makers of Onida, KY Thunder, Web Cruiser, Science of Sound series — has consolidated its marketshare at 12.5 per cent for November 2001. This is an increase from 12 per cent in October 2001, as per the latest ORG report.

According to Mr V Chandramouli, vice-president (sales and marketing), Mirc Electronics, the company has been steadily gaining marketshare— from 8.7 in June to 12.5 per cent in November, a gain of 3.8 per cent in just five months.

Adds Mr Chandramouli: “This puts Onida in the second position in the colour television (CTV) market, with players such as BPL in the first position and Videocon in the third position.” Further, the company is expected to attain a 13 per cent marketshare by March 2002 riding on the success of its popular brand KY Thunder.

Last year, Mirc had captured a dominant position in the 29-inch segment with a marketshare of 21.7 per cent, whereas competitors such as Samsung achieved 14.9 per cent share, LG 14.1 per cent and BPL nine per cent, claims Mr Chandramouli.

In a bid to touch 13 per cent marketshare by March 2002, Mirc aims at strongly focusing on smaller towns by adding about 500 dealers and sub-dealers to identify the potential for a fair amount of television sell. For the purpose, the company is currently conducting a survey to examine its presence and potential in smaller towns.

Mirc plans to market an overall 1.25 lakh units of its existing range of CTVs in the northern markets. Says Mr Chandramouli: “By doing this, the company will capture a fair deal of the northern market which will reflect in the company’s overall marketshare. In the northern market alone, Mirc targets its marketshare to grow from 8.1 to 10 per cent by 2002-end.

As for the company’s new year plans, Mr Chandramouli informs: “In the new year season in the south, Mirc introduced a 1,000 watts KY Thunder DLX with considerable success. The company has sold 3,000 TV sets in the south beginning mid-December and hopes to sell additional 3,000 TV sets by 2002-end.”

As regards the new product launches, Mirc plans to unveil a new model in the flat segment under the umbrella sub-brand Black. It also plans to extend its product portfolio in the 29-inch segment from KY Thunder, 29-inch NV to include 29-inch Circle Surround Sound.

To support these new launches, the company plans to launch both print and television advertising campaigns. “The company will decide on the pricing, marketing and distribution strategies by March 2002, adds Mr Chandramouli.

Explains Mr Chandramouli: “The company attributes its success to three major factors: First, the complete revamp of models by introduction of Onida Black, the new TVE series and the new Candy series April. Second, improvement of the brand image aided by sustained advertising of Onida Black and Onida KY Thunder.
Third, improvement in sales in the north, which has been hitherto a weak market for Onida.”