Videocon and Onida, the two groups fighting for the number two position in India's colour TV market, have strategies that vary completely, and entirely different thinking motivates their moves in the marketplace. While Onida has harnessed a single brand with sub-brands to do all its work, all riding on superior technology, the Videocon group uses a multi-pronged, multi-brand strategy.

Videocon's plans for market dominance couldn't be more different from Onida's. The group talks multi-brand and multi-price. It has consciously adopted a multi-brand strategy -- besides its own brand, Videocon, it markets the Sansui, Toshiba and Akai brands. And you can expect some more names to be added to its brand wagon in the future.

Market research agency ORG-G  FK's readings for May 1999 put Videocon International's combined market share by volume at 16.8 per cent (Videocon: 10.5 per cent; Sansui: 4.6 per cent; Akai: 1.2 per cent; Toshiba: 0.5 per cent). Of course, .

"Our factory despatch figures show we did a total (all brands combined) of 1,33,000 TVs in May, of which the Videocon brand accounted for 85,000. And our OEM supply for Akai is not included in the total dispatch figure," says Mr Gupta. Against that ORG-GFK reads the Videocon brand's May volume at 52,600.

Videocon's strategy is two-pronged. It is planning to play serious ball at the low end of the market by tying up with a Chinese CTV manufacturer -- the name is still under wraps -- in order to offer prices of around Rs 6,000. This tack is also meant to combat another Chinese brand, Konka, which is targeting the Indian market with really low-priced CTV models.

The Videocon group foresees quantum growth in the lower end of the electronics market in India. "B and C class towns contribute 60 per cent of the company's revenues," says Mr Gupta. "With the metro markets getting saturated, it is the B and C towns and rural areas that offer the greatest scope for expansion."

He adds that the rural-urban divide today is thinning. There is large-scale migration to cities where a distinct class of consumers is emerging. "We want to cater to this segment. We are marketing our products keeping in mind the lifestyle requirements of Indians and the income constraints."

However, the company is not willing to dip too low on prices (and features) and play the volumes game alone. Therefore, it is also pushing at the upper end of the colour TV spectrum with prices that are competitive in those segments. A new line of large screen and flat screen CTVs are planned in screen sizes of 21, 25 and 29 inches with top-of-the line features like Nicam stereo, timer, automatic settings, organiser and headphones. The launch is scheduled for August 1999, just in time for the festival season.

With Akai too, the plans are two-pronged. While some price-led models will continue along the same lines as the Akai strategy when the brand was being marketed by Baron International, it's at the upper-end that efforts at building the brand's image and equity will be made.

Akai products will now be made by Akai-Videocon, a joint venture. Brand positioning is being revamped: superior quality will be tom-tommed, along with superior technology, an aspect which Videocon believes Akai lost out on in its long association with Baron.

Akai technology will now be sourced from Akai, Japan, or Akai, Malaysia, and not from China as was the case with the Baron-Akai venture. The Japanese or Malaysian companies are able to offer the latest in digital and plasma technology, says Videocon.

The company also plans to offer a money bond scheme with every purchase of an Akai home theatre system. Consumers will be eligible for an income bond, encashable after an 18-year period. This does sound familiar with the money-back guarantee scheme offered by Videocon in 1998. The company claims that the scheme was highly successful, and during March-April '98, some 95,000 TV sets were sold.

Mr Gupta says he's not perturbed by the multinational onslaught. He says Indian companies have the distinct advantage of understanding the Indian market like no one else. "Even with a number of companies in the electronics market, the ones with the largest market shares are Videocon, BPL and Onida."