News: Panasonic bullish on Indian market

(BL 16/06/2006) New Delhi - Bullish on the Indian market, Japanese consumer electronics major Panasonic is looking to rev up its marketing activities in the country to give a boost to sales.

The company today said it would increase its expenditure on marketing/advertising as well as roll out newer products in the Indian market.

"There is tremendous potential in the Indian market and we are ready to invest more," the Panasonic India Deputy Managing Director, Hidenori Aso, said.

The company, at present, is a marginal player in the consumer durables segment, which is dominated by South Korean companies LG and Samsung. Panasonic, which manufactures televisions at its Noida factory, had sales of Rs 150 crore from its consumer electronics (including home appliances) in the Indian market last fiscal.

"The Koreans did a good job in India and I feel we got a little delayed. But we will move aggressively now," Aso said.

Asked whether it had similar plans for televisions, the Panasonic India Managing Director, Shrikrishna G Kulkarni, said there were no plans to discontinue production at Noida.

The company today launched a range of plasma and LCD TVs in India, apart from digital movie cameras and digital still cameras.

Part of the Japan-based Matsushita Electric Group (MEG), Panasonic India is targeting to capture 25 per cent share of the Indian market and catch up with its Korean rivals.