Colour television sets will sell till Bharat exists

With the advent of panel televisions, the colour television (CTV) business seems to be dwindling. However, on a closer look, there is a thriving market for CTVs.

Leading players say that un-penetrated semi-urban and rural markets are still buying CTVs. LG claims that 40 per cent of their total television sales come from this segment.

S. H. Park, Director-Home Entertainment, LG India, says, “Penetration of television is still low in India, especially in semi-urban and rural areas. These are the areas that are driving the demand for television sets. Since a large proportion of customers are price sensitive, the CTV still has strong demand in such areas.”

Mahesh Krishnan, Vice-President, Samsung India, also claims that 50 per cent of their total television sales come from CTV sets. Although the market for panel televisions (LED/LCD TVs) is also growing, with smaller panels available at competitive prices, he adds.

Videocon, too, says that 18 per cent of their sales turnover comes from CTVs. “Our main market for this segment is outside the top 20 towns. There are enough people in this country buying their first television,” says H. S. Bhatia, Chief Marketing Officer, Videocon.

“Although there is a decline in industry growth of almost 10-11 per cent every year, we will not be phasing out CTVs. We will let the market forces decide on the phasing out date,” he adds.

Videocon is the largest manufacturer of colour televisions in India and exports to West Asia, Indian sub-continent and North and Central African countries. “We have a home entertainment television series that works on the limitations of an LCD. It allows for loud sound, unlike an LCD, and also has USB port. We are bringing in little innovations to keep the otherwise stagnant market floating,” Bhatia adds.

While many dealers in big cities have phased out CTVs, South Delhi-based Murthy Electronics claims that as much as 40 per cent of their sales come from this segment. Intex, LG and Samsung are the three brands that it sells, Samsung being the best selling one.

Sargam Electronics, a South Delhi dealer of white goods, also continues to sell CTVs. “Although we keep only two-three sets for display, almost 5-7 per cent of our sales come from colour televisions.” Priced in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 13,600, this dealer sells Samsung CTVs all over Delhi.

“For every 10 LCDs, we sell two CTVs,” says another Delhi based dealer.