Akai aims at Rs 2,000 cr revenue in comeback bid

Consumer electronic brand Akai, which has re-entered the Indian market through its licensee Hometech Digital, is aiming to have around Rs 1,500-2,000 crore sales in next four years.

Hometech Digital has launched around 60 products under Akai brand in categories including LED TV, Washing Machines, Air conditioners, Refrigerators, Air Purifiers and Home Appliances.

"We have come with a full range of products across six categories. We are aiming for sales of Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore by FY 2020-21," Akai India Director Anurag Sharma told PTI.

As part of its strategy, the company would position itself among the B segment customers, who want quality product but cannot afford the top brands.

"We would provide qualitative product at competitive price," he said. Adding that Akai would have a network of around 200 distributors and 2,000 retailers by the mid of 2017.

Akai had first come to India in 1995 by launching its range of colour televisions. However, it lost market share to Korean rivals like LG and Samsung.

"We are expecting that 65 per cent of our sales would be from consumer electronics and rest to come from the appliances sector," Sharma added.

The company would spend around Rs 150-200 crore on branding and marketing, and also bank on brand recall of Akai.

Hometech Digital has got brand license for Akai in July 2016 for next 10 years. Hometech Digital is a part of Paras Group, which retails products of leading brands as Sony, LG Electronics, Nikon etc.

Akai is also in talks with leading e-commerce channels as it expects a good volume from the online platform as its popularity is increasing.

Besides, the company is also focusing on the consumer satisfaction aspect and have already made 55 service centres operational in eight states.

"We would import products in SKD (semi knocked down) form from countries like Taiwan and China and then assemble it locally here," he added.

Akai, which was founded in Japan (1929), is now based in Singapore. It is now held by Hong Kong-listed Grande Holdings Ltd, which has other Japanese brands such as Nakamichi and Sansui in its fold.