<p>Homegrown consumer electronics legend BPL has evinced plans to make a comeback in the Indian TV and appliances market, after lying dormant for the last few years in the said space.<br /><br /></p>.<p>BPL — which was the ‘other name’ for colour televisions in India during the 1980s and 90s — has signed a distribution agreement with Flipkart, on whose online platform, it sells three models of TV (24-, 32-, and 40-inch LED TVs), since launching them in January. <br /><br />Going a little down memory lane, BPL Chairman and Managing Director Ajit G Nambiar said that the company once had 9,000 employees across its 28 factories, holding a reputation of reaching one million TV set sales by 2000, with a 20% market share. “The collapse of Sanyo, our long-term technology partner forced us out of the market in 2006. Most of BPL’s marketing and manufacturing infrastructure ceased to exist after dissolution of the BPL-Sanyo JV,” Nambiar told DH.<br /><br />The TV market has since changed, with several, especially Korean, players coming in. Nambiar said, “No doubt, there are large competitors in the market. But there are numerous smaller players, who have no legacy. While they know how to make a TV, they don’t know how to perfect its technology. We are experienced on both fronts, along with R&D.”<br /><br />In the last few years, the customer sentiment about demand for BPL’s products has surged, even as the company bought time to wait for the right opportunity to hit the market again.<br /><br />“We still have 18 million BPL product-users today,” Nambiar claimed, adding that the success of the business model surrounding the online space provides the possibility to replace conventional retail shops with the virtual channel, with sales and after-sales service being handled efficiently.<br /><br />Flipkart commenced test marketing for BPL’s new TVs, and came out with good response, following which, the company became bullish on its reentry into the consumer electronics space. “In January 2016, we started with 500 TVs as inventory for the test marketing. Now, we are touching 8,000-10,000 unit sales a month, expecting to see higher growth during Deepavali,” he said.<br /><br />Product splash<br /><br />While the current TV range consists of regular LED sets, the company also plans to have a full range of advanced products, including larger TVs, smart TVs and ultra-HD 4K TVs. <br /><br />“We want to start business in a small way, slowly scaling growth. We have also launched a washing machine, and want to launch refrigerators and microwaves this year, while we are looking at ACs in the coming year. This first year, we are aiming at Rs 60-70 crore turnover, which is expected to reach over Rs 600 crore over the next three years,” Nambiar said, adding that BPL’s three existing factories, apart from contract manufacturing, will work towards the company’s production activities.</p>
<p>Homegrown consumer electronics legend BPL has evinced plans to make a comeback in the Indian TV and appliances market, after lying dormant for the last few years in the said space.<br /><br /></p>.<p>BPL — which was the ‘other name’ for colour televisions in India during the 1980s and 90s — has signed a distribution agreement with Flipkart, on whose online platform, it sells three models of TV (24-, 32-, and 40-inch LED TVs), since launching them in January. <br /><br />Going a little down memory lane, BPL Chairman and Managing Director Ajit G Nambiar said that the company once had 9,000 employees across its 28 factories, holding a reputation of reaching one million TV set sales by 2000, with a 20% market share. “The collapse of Sanyo, our long-term technology partner forced us out of the market in 2006. Most of BPL’s marketing and manufacturing infrastructure ceased to exist after dissolution of the BPL-Sanyo JV,” Nambiar told DH.<br /><br />The TV market has since changed, with several, especially Korean, players coming in. Nambiar said, “No doubt, there are large competitors in the market. But there are numerous smaller players, who have no legacy. While they know how to make a TV, they don’t know how to perfect its technology. We are experienced on both fronts, along with R&D.”<br /><br />In the last few years, the customer sentiment about demand for BPL’s products has surged, even as the company bought time to wait for the right opportunity to hit the market again.<br /><br />“We still have 18 million BPL product-users today,” Nambiar claimed, adding that the success of the business model surrounding the online space provides the possibility to replace conventional retail shops with the virtual channel, with sales and after-sales service being handled efficiently.<br /><br />Flipkart commenced test marketing for BPL’s new TVs, and came out with good response, following which, the company became bullish on its reentry into the consumer electronics space. “In January 2016, we started with 500 TVs as inventory for the test marketing. Now, we are touching 8,000-10,000 unit sales a month, expecting to see higher growth during Deepavali,” he said.<br /><br />Product splash<br /><br />While the current TV range consists of regular LED sets, the company also plans to have a full range of advanced products, including larger TVs, smart TVs and ultra-HD 4K TVs. <br /><br />“We want to start business in a small way, slowly scaling growth. We have also launched a washing machine, and want to launch refrigerators and microwaves this year, while we are looking at ACs in the coming year. This first year, we are aiming at Rs 60-70 crore turnover, which is expected to reach over Rs 600 crore over the next three years,” Nambiar said, adding that BPL’s three existing factories, apart from contract manufacturing, will work towards the company’s production activities.</p>
