Sony India expects this Diwali to be a "turning point" for the company, as the consumer electronics major eyes a double-digit growth driven by lower prices of large-screen TVs following a GST cut, its Managing Director Sunil Nayyar said.
The TV market, which was flat this fiscal year since April, will get a boost with an average price benefit of 7.5 to 8 per cent, he said, adding that it will create a "new mood, new sentiment in the market".
"So, overall (festive) growth should be above double digit. This was not the case three months back, so it is looking positive," Nayyar told PTI.
The company -- which is in the premium segment and lowering prices of its TVs in the range of Rs 8,000 to 70,000, depending on models -- expects upscaling by customers this festive season in TV screen size, opting for higher technology and an increase in sales of combo products like soundbars.
"The market was running flat so far, so it was not growing...Starting April, markets have been a bit challenging for this industry, I have to confess that, but now, since this beautiful news has come, we are expecting at least 10 per cent growth," Nayyar said, adding that it "can be even bigger, may be even 15 per cent growth can come, but 10 per cent is on cards and specially for large screen".
In the TV segment, Nayyar said Sony, which operates in the premium side, mostly in 55-inch and above, will be the most benefited this festival season.
"We are going to sell a lot of 55-inch, 65-inch, 75-inch, 85-inch and 98-inch screen sizes, and all these televisions come in the premium large segment series," he added.
Over the prices, Nayyar said that 55-inch screen size TVs will witness a price drop of Rs 8,000 to Rs 32,000 and Rs 11,000 to Rs 40,000 on 65 TVs. While on 75-inch and above size, the reduction will be from Rs 19,000 to Rs 51,000; and from Rs 47,000 to Rs 70,000 on 85-inch screen.
Moreover, coupled with other schemes like a reduction in income tax slab, the customers will have additional disposable income, and Nayyar expects this to increase in sales of other products as imaging (camera), soundbars and party speakers, headphones, PlayStation etc, on which no reduction in GST has been announced.
"With GST coming down, they are able to buy better value proposition products, better technology products at almost similar price points, as was before GST," he said, adding that "this Diwali, people will upgrade to larger screen sizes, so we are going to sell tonnes of 75 inch, 85 inch, and 98 inch in the market with massive price advantage to our consumers".
Moreover, it will help Sony to expand its base in smaller and rural markets, which contribute almost half of its sales.
Earlier this month, the government reduced the GST on TV screens above 32-inch screen size to 18 per cent from the highest slab of 28 per cent.
However, Nayyar acknowledged that customers have almost stopped buying new TV sets after the announcement, as they are waiting till September 22, when the new GST rates will be applicable.
"This is very logical, so obviously the demand is very low right now, I would say less than half," he said, adding that this will create a "pent up demand" as "everybody is waiting for September 22. The industry is confident that from September 22, customers will flock to stores and they will buy whatever they didn't buy so far".
Nayyar also acknowledged that festive sales in Onam in the Southern part were impacted after the announcement.
"We are going to have a kind of mini extension of Onam. We are going to extend our schemes for Onam, to give an opportunity for all our Onam customers, especially our market in Kerala, to have an opportunity to buy with the new GST," he added.
Earlier this year, Nayyar had said Sony India expects to cross Rs 10,000 crore turnover in the next two to three years, helped by the expansion of its product line and growing premiumisation.
Sony India had reported a rise of 20.6 per cent in its revenue from operations to Rs 7,663.74 crore for the financial year ended March 2024.
