Remember the ‘devil’ mascot of the 80s, with the tagline ‘neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride’ which made Onida an aspirational TV brand? Now, the ‘devil’ is all set to make a comeback, on TV and in print advertisements, albeit with a different tagline.
The iconic Indian television brand is bringing back the mascot after a gap of more than six years to regain market share.
“We are getting the devil back shortly. We want to remind people about the high quality of our products and revive the brand,” said Vijay Mansukhani, managing director, Mirc Electronics Ltd., which owns the Onida brand.
In the 80s and mid-90s, Onida TV was a status symbol. However, after the economy opened up, Mirc took a hit. The company ran into losses for almost five years, and is now bouncing back with the introduction of the GST regime. Last year, it reported a net profit of ₹23 crore on revenue of ₹736 crore.
‘Automation helped’
Mirc has turned around due to automation of its plant at Wada, consolidation of manufacturing facilities, and infusion of ₹144 crore in equity by a strategic investor which has provided liquidity, company executives said.
For the current year, the company has plans to re-introduce the ‘devil’ with a tagline ‘Maximum Impact –Maximum Sound’ for its newly-launched KY Super thunder smart TV. The company would spend 1-2% of its sales revenue as advertising budget for the current year to gain the lost ground, Mr. Mansukhani said.
The recent increase in customs duty has made the firm enter manufacturing of television panels in India. The company has started manufacturing TV panels at its new panel manufacturing facility at Wada, near Mumbai, for captive consumption.
It had also started manufacturing television sets for a leading conglomerate which was into retail, and had applied for BIS certification for three more leading international players that were entering the Indian consumer durables market, he added.
Mirc Electronics is expecting 10% of its revenues to come from non-captive manufacturing of televisions and in the next year it would be substantial in its revenues. It is also planning to set up an assembly line for ACs at Wada.
Mr. Mansukhani said, “We will continue to focus on three large products segments such as televisions, air conditioners and washing machines, as the current penetration levels in India are marginal when compared to China and other western markets.”
“With increasing population of both spouses working, the demand for consumer durables will increase and favourable demographics of the young population and their aspirations will only accelerate the demand,” he added.