BPL registers 8 Growth

Bangalore, Apr 15: The second brand will be launched very very soon,'' the Company's Director of International Operations, L H Bhatia, t...

Bangalore, Apr 15: 8220;The second brand will be launched very very soon,8221; the Company8217;s Director of International Operations, L H Bhatia, told reporters. 8220;Test market is scheduled later this month,8221; he said but declined to give further details.

Chief Finance Officer, R Murali, said the new brand would cater predominantly to the domestic market. Senior vice-president of Entertainment Electronics Business Group, V Shekhar, said BPL was aiming for two million colour television sales in 2000-2001 after having achieved a milestone of over one million in the last fiscal.

8220;In fact, BPL is the only brand ever to have sold more than one million colour televisions in a single financial year,8221; Shekhar said.

Bhatia said of the two million targets, 1.6 million would be for domestic market, 2,00,000 for exports and 2,00,000 for third party exports through strategic relationships8217;.

Giving the break-up of the Rs 2,150 crore revenue, Murali said Rs 1,500 crore accounted for entertainment electronics, Rs 400 crore for appliances, Rs 100 crore for exports, Rs 105 crore for soft energy and the remaining for others.

Bhatia ruled out the BPL entering the entertainment software business but said the company was presently working on internet content. 8220;That would come through,8221; he said.

Shekhar said BPL would be ready with products for thedigital era, noting that the Union government had announced that the digital transmission would start by the end of this year, and analogue transmission was expected to be phased out by 2012.

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Bhatia said interactive TV would see a quanturm jump with the digital TV transmission. It will happen in India very soon and will be seen in many households, he said.

Making a comparative assessment, Bhatia said Chinaconsumed 28 million colour televisions annually, whereas in India the figure was only 5.3 million, which, according to him, should touch 25 million.

In a profile of colour TV customers, a company officialsaid 22 per cent of colour TVs in India were owned by those living in towns having population of less than one lakh, 30 per cent in metros and the remaining 48 per cent in towns having population between one lakh and ten lakh.

Responding to questions, Shekhar said India8217;s 4.5 millionblack and white television market was degrowing at the rate of 15 per cent in the last three years.

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Officials said BPL sold 8,17,000 colour televisions in1998-1999, and presently held a market share in India of between 23 per cent and 25 per cent, and it was in the process of consolidation.