December 12, 2018
India’s appliance and consumer electronics market is touted to increase at a 9% CAGR to reach US$48.4 billion by 2022
For the local manufacturing, Thomson has tied up with Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL), an Indian TV manufacturer
Thomson has seen strong uptake in India owing to the growing popularity of ecommerce amid improving digital connectivity
China’s Xiaomi, TCL and Haier to set up or expand manufacturing operations in India to tap the growing electronics market
French television brand Thomson is planning to set up a manufacturing operation in Noida, according to media reports on December 12, citing an official statement. Thomson entered India’s vast consumer electronics market in partnership with india’s largest online retailer, Walmart-owned Flipkart, in April 2018. Thomson now plans to invest more than US$21 million to set up the new plant by January 2019. For the local manufacturing, Thomson has tied up with Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL), an Indian TV manufacturer and Thomson’s exclusive brand licensee in India. Thomson has seen strong uptake in India owing to the growing popularity of ecommerce amid improving digital connectivity and affordability.
The fast-growing demand for competitively-priced consumer electronics with the latest technology has encouraged the likes of China’s Xiaomi, TCL and Haier to set up or expand manufacturing operations in India. To effectively compete in the space, Thomson aims to launch a number of premium TV models and upgrade its current offerings in 2019. Meanwhile, for the time being, Thomson and SPPL plan to stay focussed on online-only sale model, through which the brand had sold more than 100,000 TV during the Diwali festive sale season. Indian appliance and consumer electronics (ACE) market reached US$31.5 billion in 2017 and is expected to increase at a 9 per cent CAGR to reach US$48.4 billion in 2022.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone brand with six plants across India, will soon start producing TVs locally. Xiaomi said in October that it would partner with Dixon Technologies, an Indian technology company, to build 100,000 Mi LED Smart TVs per month. Similarly, TCL Corp, a Chinese electronics brand had said in October that it planned to invest over US$270 million in the first phase of a manufacturing plant that will have an annual production capacity of around 3 million TVs. The investments come in line with the Indian Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative that aims to boost indigenous manufacturing.