What has been your journey so far for Onida brand and how have you been turned around your business in the last two years?
Onida had ruled the Indian household for almost 25 years and has reigned over households for with our iconic devil and a tagline ‘neighbour’s envy owner’s pride’. However, after opening the flood gates to enter international brands in to the country with lots of time frame based tax incentives, Ondia has suffered losses for almost five years. This had resulted in fragmented manufacturing across India and none of the Indian brands were able to compete with international brands as there was no level playing field. So now when the GST came in, everything fell into place and became a level playing field for everyone. Onida is back in to profits during the last year with Rs 23 crore profit and Rs 736 crore of revenues from sales of televisions, air conditioners, washing machines and microwave ovens. The company has turned around due to automation of their plant at Wada, consolidating manufacturing facilities, infusion of Rs. 144 crore equity by Ashish Kacholia’ s Lucky Securities and also increasing the spend on advertising in the last two years.
Now that the famous devil is back, what is the advertising strategy now?
We have brought back the Devil in its print and television advertising to bring back the memories of the people. The company had spent Rs. 35 crore during the last year on IPL, print, BTL and other promotional activities. For the current year the company has launched Devil at brand level with its print ad campaign “Maximum Impact –Maximum Sound” for newly launched KY Super thunder smart TV. Onida will spend 1-2 per cent of its sales as advertising budget for the current year to gain the lost ground.
What kind of growth opportunities you have recently grabbed and how are they evolving?
The recent increase in the customs duty by the Government of India as a part of promoting Make in India has made Ondia to enter in to manufacturing of the television panels domestically. Onida has started manufacturing of the TV panels at their newly set up Panel manufacturing facility at their existing plant located in Wada, near Mumbai for captive consumption. Besides panels the company has also started manufacturing televisions for leading conglomerate in India and is currently applied for BIS certification for three more leading international players who are entering Indian consumer durables market.
Onida is expecting 10 per cent of its revenues from non-captive manufacturing of televisions during the current year and the next year would be very substantial in their revenues.
What kind of dealer network you have in Metro, Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets and have you seen any expansion in these numbers?
Onida has a wide network of 4000 dealers spread all across India and is adding 500 more dealers in every 6 months. With the number of dealers and points of presence stores coupled with an online presence on Flipkart and Amazon, we are confident of achieving the growth numbers for the current year. Our focus would continue to be on Mini metros and Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where the demand for televisions, air conditioners and washing machines are growing substantially. The penetration levels of air conditioners and washing machines are less than5%, there is lots of demand is going to be generated from all aspirational and young population in India.
How your washing machines business is flaring in the last one year?
We have recently launched 20 new Washing Machine models to strengthen our Washing Machine product portfolio. This line-up includes glass lid Semi-Automated and Hi-End front load and top load machines with in-built heaters.
The demand for Washing Machines goes up majorly during the monsoon season. There is a greater need among urban, metro and rural consumers to upgrade their machines during this season. Onida targets to grow in this category by 80 per cent during the current year generating a revenue of Rs 160 crore.
Have you recently launched any innovative and technologically advanced products?
Onida has recently launched Onida KY Super thunder - a television set that redefines high-quality 3000 watts audio output to its customers. The Onida KY Super Thunder is designed to deliver a stunning overall experience. KY Super Thunder – is a pure immersive sound like never before. The KY Horn speakers improve the emission of sound waves and enhance the details. They work by transforming pressure with mathematical precision so that the full audio spectrum gets delivered without any distortions. KY Super Thunder has 8 built-in speakers, which gives you distortion-free full audio spectrum sound. With its 4k ultra HD resolution, it enhances the viewing experience. The 4K UHD picture quality that comes with 3840x2160 pixels which give you 2 times more detailed than Full HD. Its big screen size with crystal clear picture quality makes your movie character comes to life.
