Zenith plans 27 exclusive stores by 2008-end

Vu Technologies, a California-based company brought to India exclusively by Mumbai-based PC and notebook maker Zenith Computers, plans to open 27 more exclusive stores across the country by the end of 2008, each entailing an investment of Rs 1 crore.

Vu (pronounced view), which researches, develops and manufactures digital homes, high-end computers, LCD displays, audio and gaming devices, entered India a year-and-a-half ago. It currently has stores in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune.

"A Vu store each in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai will come up in January 2008, while the remaining will be opened at other locations in a phased manner," Devita Saraf, executive director, Zenith Computers, and CEO of Vu Technologies, told Business Standard.

"With people willing to shell out big bucks in acquiring luxury products, we expect substantial revenues from these stores," she added, while declining to share financial figures. According to a study, the luxury market in India is estimated at Rs 16,000 crore, of which digital products and accessories account for 26 per cent.

Targeted at the upmarket and high-end clients, Vu stores would be spread across 1,000-1,500 sq ft and offer a gamut of product types including LCD TVs, digital photo frames, high-end computers and Bluetooth-based products.

Zenith is also looking at scaling up its Zenith PC World franchisee outlets to 900, from 500, in tier II and tier III locations in the next one year.

"Zenith has been selling PCs in the country since 27 years and notebooks since 1999. Markets in tier II and tier III cities are only growing and our expansion plan is in line with this trend," she said.

Zenith has a 40,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Goa with a capacity to roll out of 30,000 PCs and notebooks per month. It recently launched three new notebooks - Zenith Admiral, Director and Presidio - targeting the sub-30K segment.

"With the rapid expansion of the company's product lines and increase in customers, we intend to double the production capacity at the Goa facility in a couple of years," Devita said.

Zenith Computers achieved a turnover of Rs 365 crore in the last financial year, and it forecasts a 30 per cent growth this fiscal.