Philips eyes over 50% growth in India audio biz next year

New Delhi, Oct 11 () Consumer electronics major Philips on Friday said it expects to see its audio business in India grow by over 50 per cent next year as it expands its portfolio and brings in more 'Made for India' products. Last year, Taiwan-based TPV Technology had received the rights for Philips' TV range as well as audio products for the Indian market that includes aspects like manufacturing, marketing and sales. "While we are resolving a lot of the old issues but at the same time in the last six months, we have managed to expand our retail presence and our audio products are present in almost 30,000-35,000 outlets...We expect to grow by more than 50 per cent within the audio segment next year," Arun Menon, Country Business Head Philips Television and Audio, TPV Technology said. This will be driven by categories like earphones, headphones, sound bars and wireless in general, he said adding that the company is looking at growth rates of 25-26 per cent this year. He, however, declined to comment on the revenue details. Menon noted that the audio market in the country is dominated by unbranded products. He estimated that while the market opportunity is well over USD 1 billion in size, around 30 per cent of this is branded players. "About 3 years ago, audio products were all about home audio like sound bars and that category was also almost stagnant. However, with increase in mobility, there has been a strong shift towards earphones, headphones and wireless products," he explained. He added that the company, which has a research and development centre in India, is working on bringing in products that have the best of technology at reasonable prices. Philips Audio on Friday launched a new range of soundbars that can be connected with television sets and gaming consoles. Menon said the company had seen a bit of slowness in demand in the early part of the year but there has been a pick-up during the festive season. "The festive season has started on a good note, sales have picked up...festive period accounts for about 35-38 per cent of the annual sale," he noted. SR SHW SHW
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