MUMBAI: The excitement generated by the ongoing cricket World Cup (host nation England's lousy weather notwithstanding) has seen consumer electronics makers such as Sony, Samsung, LG and Panasonic reporting up to 100% jump in sales of large-screen TVs (55-inch and above) compared to the same period last year.
Interestingly, the sales spurt has not been restricted to just the metros, as smaller cities such as Hubli, Jabalpur, Raipur, Ranchi, Kochi and Nagpur too have posted robust numbers, PTI reports.
Moreover, companies expect sales to pick up further as the tournament progresses towards the knock-out rounds, and have lined up attractive offers, including easy financing and cashbacks, to woo the fans.
“The World Cup started around 10 days ago and now we can see the largest screen sizes, particularly 55-inch and above 4K TVs, a sales jump of almost 100 per cent. This is twice what used to be in the same time last year,” Sony India BRAVIA Business head Sachin Rai told PTI.
Rajeev Bhutani, Samsung India senior vice president, Consumer Electronics Business, said that as India progresses ahead in the competition, sales would increase.
“Cricket fans across India are upgrading to bigger TV screens to enjoy the World Cup. In the month of May, we saw sales of 55-inch and above TVs, which include our QLED TVs, double over last year. Sale of 75-inch and above TVs saw a 5X jump, indicating a rising demand for bigger screens this World Cup,” he told the newswire.
According to Panasonic India Business head (Consumer Electronics) Sharath Nair, after festive sales, sporting season is the major opportunity for companies to connect with customers and create engagement touchpoints.
“This is particularly relevant during the sporting season as the demand for a superior viewing experience is triggered and customers look for advanced features such as a large screen and enhanced sound quality,” he said. “Following this trend, we are targeting 25% growth in sales during the World Cup 2019 fuelled by the large screen sizes of 55 inches and above.”
While none of the makers shared the number of units sold, they said the growth was much higher this year compared to the previous few seasons.
Large-screen TVs of established brands come in the price range of Rs 50,000 to Rs 175,000.
However, some models are priced even higher. Recently, Samsung launched 8K UHD TV in the price range of Rs 1,099,000 to Rs 5,999,000.
The Indian TV market is estimated at around 12.5 million sets a year and about 15% is contributed by large-screen sales.
LG is also witnessing a similar trend in its premium TV segment.
“For smart TV with ThinQ AI, we are targeting 35 percent growth and we are witnessing robust growth in sales. In fact, for OLED and NanoCell TV we are expecting 200% growth as consumers want best TV viewing experience to enjoy cricket season,” an LG Electronics India spokesperson said.
The ICC World Cup started on May 30. The finals will be played on July 14.
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