Panasonic India plans to launch a range of youth-focused products by April 2013. This segment, it hopes, would help it earn about Rs 3,000 crore by 2015, said Manish Sharma, managing director (consumer products division), Panasonic India.
In the past one year, the Japanese consumer durables company, which lost market share to Korean rivals Samsung and LG in the past decade, had introduced a few youth-centric grooming products such as hair dryers, hair stylers, shavers and beauty care products.
Sharma said the company’s plans would be “a game-changer for Panasonic in India. Once a household name, the company remained silent during 2002-2008 in the Indian market. After that, it has been trying to re-establish its presence, backed by brand recall. Youth-focused products would definitely give an edge to the company’s growth”.
Along with independent market research agencies, Panasonic has been carrying out a feasibility study for the initiative. Sharma said the study would be completed by December. “There would be products across all categories,” Sharma said, declining to specify the details on the proposed line of products.
Its grooming range would primarily be aimed at the lifestyle segment. Currently, its beauty and grooming products contribute very little to the company. Initially, the company would import all youth-focused products from Japan. However, Sharma said a few products could be designed specifically for the Indian market. “Localisation is the key for us. About 30 per cent of all our consumer products are made in India. By December, Panasonic would start production from three more factories, raising the localisation to about 70 per cent,” Sharma said.
In India, where about 53 per cent of the population is below 25 years, tapping into the youth segment can be big business. This is one of the key factors why Panasonic is considering launching products for the youth. In Japan, where the population of the elderly is high, the market for youth-focused products is not growing, Sharma said.
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By 2015, Panasonic aims to record about Rs 12,000 crore of revenue from the consumer products division, taking the group’s overall revenue to Rs 25,000 crore. In 2010-11, Panasonic India reported sales of Rs 5,500 crore, and estimated sales for 2011-12 stand at Rs 10,000 crore, according to a company statement.
The personal care and grooming market for men in India is estimated at about Rs 1,500 crore, with annual growth of 25 per cent.
Panasonic, a late entrant into the market for youth-centric products, would bank on innovation, localisation, ‘eco ideas’ and pricing. “We are not targeting just metro cities. We would tap the entire country, including smaller cities and the rural masses, making products affordable and available to all,” Sharma said.
In the past five months, Philips, Panasonic’s Dutch rival, launched 23 youth-focused products in India. Of these, 18 are in the consumer lifestyle entertainment segment. These include docking stations, MP3/MP4 players, home theatre systems and headphones.
Earlier, Panasonic had announced by 2015, it would invest $300 million in India in marketing, factory and research & development. Sharma said Panasonic’s ‘first engine’ range of products like flat panel TVs and air conditioners would continue to be large contributors, adding the company would focus on washing machines, refrigerators and microwave ovens in the next financial year.
The company plans to make India a hub for manufacturing home appliances and consumer products. These products would be exported to markets in Africa and West Asia, said Daizo Ito, president, Panasonic India. The first shipment is likely by 2014-15. Though the company is yet to finalise product lines for exports, it is likely air conditioners and washing machines would be included.