Colour television (CTV) sales, which grew just over 4.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2001, have declined to 3.7 per cent during the four months from January to April.
According to industry estimates, during the four months the industry sold 1.64 million CTV sets against 1.58 million sets during the same period last year.
In April alone, 382,400 CTV sets were sold against 3,82,300 units sold in April 2000, which implies hardly 100 more sets were sold month-on-month. And just about 2,800 sets additional sets were sold over March 2001 (3,85,100 units).
According to executives in the Consumer Electronics and Television Manufacturers Association, these industry estimates are only secondary sales figures collated from urban retailers and does not reflect the complete industry scenario.
The segment is still registering a 15-16 per cent degrowth, which is having a direct impact on manufacturing activities.
Sales and marketing executives at some of the companies, however, reiterated that the trend is expected to reverse from the next month onward.
"We are expecting good sales after July, which will further grow in the following festive season and post-monsoon," an official said.
Companies have maintained their market share at previous levels - with the top three slots still within the control of local brands.
BPL was at the top of the list with an 18.5 per cent share, while Videocon was still at number two position with a 12.4 per cent share. They were followed closely by Onida with 10.1 per cent, Samsung with 7.9 per cent and LG with 6.5 per cent.
