Panasonic to use Sanyo for tapping low-end market
30 Apr 2010
Japanese consumer electronics firm Panasonic said yesterday it will use products from Sanyo Electric Co, which it had acquired four months back, to tap the low-end segment of the Indian market.(See: Panasonic to acquire Sanyo for $9 billion and Panasonic acquires majority stake in Sanyo for $4.6 billion)
"With Sanyo we have a total synergy in terms of its technology and business ... we are very much focusing on the energy storage this year and Sanyo will give the platform to expand our portfolio into the segment," Panasonic India chief executive officer Daizo Ito told newspersons in New Delhi.
At present Panasonic products are positioned at middle to premium segment and with Sanyo's products filling void at the low-end, the firm said it expects to achieve an overall sales of Rs3,000 crore by this year.
In December last year, Panasonic Corporation had acquired a majority stake of Japanese battery maker Sanyo Electric Co for around $4.6 billion. Since then the company has become a wholly consolidated subsidiary of Panasonic.
"We are still retaining the Sanyo brand. We will soon start selling their products very soon, probably by next month since we now have the distribution rights to sell them. This will enable us to enter into the lower end of the market," Panasonic India general manager (marketing and corporate strategies) Sabiha Kidwai said.
In India, Sanyo had earlier been selling its products through a 50:50 joint venture with the Bangalore-based BPL. The JV was formed in 2004, but last year, the two firms had broken off the partnership.
At present, Sanyo's portfolio mainly comprises energy storage products, including solar panels, photovoltaic cells, refrigeration systems, and LCDs. "Its business in India is quite small right now. We plan to ramp up the business in a big way," Kidwai said.
Besides, the company is aiming to increase sales to Rs3,000 crore this year by going aggressive on its marketing front and bringing out more products that will suit the local needs. Panasonic India had a sales of Rs2200 crore last year.
"We target to achieve a sales of Rs3000 crore. For the last few years, we have gone aggressive on building our brand. Besides, we have realised that for a good growth, we need to bring out products, which are more Indian. So we are very much focused on India," Ito said.
