Hyundai Electronics to set up retail outlets

First outlet to be set up in Chennai this month

Hyundai Electronics India Limited (HEIL), part of the $ 27 billion Hyundai Corporation (Korea), is to invest Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh to open a retail outlet in Chennai this month.

In a bid to strengthen its brand value, HEIL has planned opening of nine outlets across the country by the end of this fiscal.

Eventually, the company will scale up its operations by opening lounges in cities like Coimbatore, Kochi, Baroda and Visakhapatnam. The setting up of outlets will be done through franchisees.

To provide a fresh retailing experience to customers, HEIL has tied up with Sify, Georgia and Music World (which will set up two kiosks in the lounge).

"Hyundai Lounge and Hyundai Station is the place where the customers can sip coffee, surf the net and listen to music while getting their products serviced or making a purchase," said Subir Palit, chief operating officer (South and West), HEIL.

Another feature of Hyundai Lounge and Hyundai Station is the PitStop "" where all the complaints registered will be serviced within six hours.

HEIL, which has already entered into the consumer electronics market through its plasma TVs, slim TVs and digital video discs (DVDs), plans to make its presence felt in the appliance market during the next financial year by manufacturing refrigerators and microwave ovens.

"We plan to bring out frost free refrigerators with a capacity of 200 litres and above," said Palit. Also, the company will be introducing two new models of digital cameras in the coming festival season.

Presently, the group is utilising the manufacturing facility of Videocon in Aurangabad. But soon it will be setting up its own manufacturing facility in Uttaranchal, which will cost them Rs 100 crore. The facility would eventually be the sourcing base for SAARC countries. However, Palit declined to give any further details on this.

The company, which enjoys a 10 per cent market share in the flat TV category, expects a turnover of Rs 600 crore by the end of 2006, out of which Rs 100 crore will be spent for advertising and other such promotional activities.