Micromax Aims for 15 Percent Share of the TV Panel Market

Consumer electronics firm Micromax is aspiring to capture 15 percent market share in the TV panel segment by next year and planning to set up a new unit to ramp up production of budget-range models by investing up to Rs. 500 crore.

The company aims to sell around 1.5 million panels in 2016 and provide the latest technology of TV viewing with an affordable price range.

"We are aiming to have around 15 percent market share next year. Micromax is expected to sell around 1.5 million panels in 2015 with an addition of 7 percent market share," Micromax Informatics Co-founder Rajesh Agarwal told PTI.

At present Micromax, which had forayed into TV panel segment in 2012, has 8 percent share of the total market, which is around 10 million units, he added.

Micromax, which has a plant in Rudrapur in Uttarakhand, is also looking to establish a new unit to ramp up its production to meet the demand.

"We are going to start a new unit, as we are thinking to have two units. We would invest around Rs. 200 to 500 crore on the new unit," Agarwal said.

Micromax's Rudrapur unit has capacity to roll out around one lakh units per month, he added.

Presently, the company uses 50 percent localised components for the TV unit and rest portions as glasses etc are imported. However, the company is planning to increase the local components gradually.

"By 2020, we expect to use all localised components. But it would also depend on external factors as firms like Foxconn are coming to India which would have glass production facility here," he said.

Micromax sells a range of LED, FHD and UHD panels from 20 inches screen size, priced between Rs. 10,590 and Rs. 88,990.

Micromax's 45 percent of total sales come from small town markets. Its products are available in leading stores

besides on all major e-commerce portals.

"We are covering 35 percent of the total point of sales," he said adding the objective is democratisation of technology to the last mile.

According to him, "Micromax is bringing right experience to the people for the B and C class towns with its innovations."

However, he also added that 'surprisingly' the company is strong in metro markets along with 'B' and 'C' class towns. TV segment is contributing around 7 percent of Micromax Informatics, which also sells mobile handsets, tablets, data cards and laptops.