Lack of any major event in the first quarter (January-March) of this year has brought down the total sales of colour televisions in the country by 4%. Added to this, the annual exams and closing of the financial year in March has also added to dip in sales of entire consumer electronics, including DVDs, flat panels and audio systems, during this period.
“The first quarter of 2007 was the time when the T20 World Cup had happened and India being the land of cricket, there was a surge in sales of colour televisions at that time. However, in the absence of any such event in the first quarter this year, there was a dip in sale,” says V Ramachandran, director (sales and marketing), LG Electronics.
“Big turbulence in the stock market during the first quarter coupled with the fact that this is the period of annual exams every year, this quarter turned up bad for the television industry,” adds R Zutshi, deputy managing director, Samsung India.
According to the ORG figures released for January to March, colour televisions that constitute average monthly revenue of Rs 850 crore witnessed a decline of 5% in revenue and 4% in terms of number of television sets sold during this period. In 2007 alone around 11.5 million units of CTVs were sold and this is expected to go up to 12.5 million units this year. No wonder, after a slightly dull first quarter, consumer durable manufacturers are bullish that the beginning of IPL in April and commencement of summer vacations in May will revive the sales in the second quarter.
