Long before smart TVs, connected homes and AI-powered appliances became industry buzzwords, Onida’s horned devil was among the most recognisable faces in Indian advertising.
The brand’s ‘Neighbour’s Envy, Owner’s Pride’ campaign turned television ownership into a status symbol for India’s middle class and helped Onida become one of the country’s best-known consumer electronics firms.
Decades later, as the market is dominated by global giants and technology-led brands, Onida is attempting to rewrite its story—and repair its financials. In FY26, the company reported a net loss of Rs 74 crore on revenue of Rs 671 crore.
The founding promoters (Gulu Mirchandani and Vijay Mansukhani) have also exited third-party contract manufacturing to focus on the Onida brand, while raising Rs 149 crore from Authum Investment and Infrastructure to fund the revival. MIRC Electronics has recently changed its name to Onida Electronics as part of the revamp exercise.
Under CEO Gunjan Srivastava, who joined earlier this year after a 12-year stint at Bosch Home Appliances, the 45-year-old brand is rolling out a turnaround plan centred on wider distribution, product innovation, stronger customer service and a refreshed brand identity.
The first signs are expected ahead of the festive season in August, when Onida plans to launch new products, brand campaigns and expand its retail presence.
“Onida is a strong legacy brand which has been market leaders in consumer electronics, especially television and audio, going back 20-30 years,” Srivastava said. “The objective is to transform it towards its true potential.”
A key shift in the strategy is pricing. Onida’s products currently sit about 5-10% below category averages, but the company plans to gradually align with market pricing and eventually move into premium positioning, backed by stronger differentiation, service upgrades and improved brand visibility.
The task ahead is steep. Once a dominant player in televisions and audio systems, Onida has steadily lost ground as rivals such as LG, Samsung and a wave of online-first brands reshaped India’s consumer electronics landscape. Categories where it once held double-digit market share have now slipped to low single digits, Srivastava said.
The revival effort begins with distribution expansion. Onida currently sells through about 4,000–4,500 retail outlets and aims to double this footprint within six months, focusing initially on southern India, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal and Punjab—markets where brand recall remains strong.
Alongside reach, the company is prioritising customer service as a key lever to rebuild trust, including faster installations, quicker repair cycles and stronger after-sales support.
“This is an area where there have been gaps in the last few years,” Srivastava said. “We want to benchmark ourselves from a customer service perspective.”
Beyond distribution and service, the turnaround hinges on product-led differentiation. Srivastava said the company is strengthening its R&D capabilities to move away from “me-too” offerings and build clearer consumer-facing advantages.
“We are strengthening our R&D team because we don’t want to rely on me-too products or designs,” he said. “We want to bring something which creates a point of difference that is relevant to the consumer.”
That ambition extends to the AI shift reshaping the appliances industry, where brands are competing on connected ecosystems and intelligent features. Srivastava said Onida plans to integrate AI into both products and operations to modernise its portfolio and customer experience.
“We have access to all the AI technologies which we can use in terms of putting them into the product,” he said. “We would introduce and make appliances as smart as possible with the relevant technology that we have access to.”
The company is also exploring AI-enabled customer support, including multilingual call centres and improved service responsiveness, as it looks to align its operating model with changing consumer needs.