Sanyo chief coming to take stock of BPL JV

Toshimasa Iue, president of Sanyo Electric, is coming to India on March 27 to take stock of its recently formed 50:50 joint venture with the beleaguered BPL Group. Iue is the grandson of the late founder of Sanyo, Toshio Iue.

According to officials at Sanyo BPL, Iue is coming into India to have a first hand view of the progress of the venture's operations. The JV company announcing its plans recently said that it wants to touch a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore in three years and hopes to achieve 16 per cent marketshare in India.

Sanyo is looking at India as a growing market for its CTVs even as it scripts a massive restructuring plan globally. According to various reports, its CTV business is faring poorly. Recently the corporation got a go-ahead for its $2.6 billion bailout plan.

The officials also added that it is expected that the Indian firm will seek further funds to expand its operations on a fast pace, though no official confirmation was available on this.

The joint venture is adopting a dual-brand strategy for Sanyo and BPL products. While the BPL brand will be used for the volume segment of CTVs, the Sanyo brand will be positioned at high-end segment of the market with plasma and hi-definition TVs.

The JV, started on a equity base of close to Rs 100 crore, will offer the complete range of consumer electronics, home appliances and digital imaging products from the Sanyo stable.

While the CTVs will be manufactured at the company's manufacturing unit in Bangalore, Sanyo BPL is also looking at the option of relying on OEMs in North India. The JV will be a key sourcing base for Sanyo for the 21 inch super slim TV set. The company is also looking at introducing CDMA handsets in due course.