Affordable LCD TVs for Indian buyers this month

New Delhi, Feb 4 (UNI) The world is no more round, with the prices of flat panel displays (FPDs) plunging down new players like Taiwan-based BenQ are set to cash in on the huge demand in the Indian market bringing in their affordable range of LCD Televisions this month.

The market for Liquid Crystal Displays or LCDs, often regarded as a volume game and so far led by Korean giants like Samsung and LG, will witness BenQ India making its foray in the segment in the second half of February.

In an interview with UNI, Ish Bawa, Marcom Head, BenQ India said ''We are looking at LCD panels fuelled with great demand and falling prices, which is likely to continue this year as well.'' The company which last week introduced the world's fastest LCD wide screen monitor -- BenQ FP92W-- will launch LCD TVs near the forthcoming cricket World Cup starting in March.

''We will use the Cricket World Cup 2007 as our platform for the launch scheduled in the second half of February, which will be complemented with offers associated with the event. Our products are targeted at the young, professional and tech savvy people so the new product will be first launched in metros alone,'' he said.

BenQ India will launch LCD TV sets with as small a size as 20 inches and go up till 47 inches for the upper range. ''The price would be around Rs 23,000-24,000 for the lower range while the 47 inches flat panel will come at about Rs 1.20 lakh,'' Bawa said adding that the company will use internet -- more popular with the GenY brats -- besides newspapers, as a major medium for its promotional campaign starting February 15-20.

He said BenQ India, a player in the digital network devices, believes that youngsters from software professionals to corporate big shots today are shifting from Cathod Ray Tube (CRT) monitors to LCDs for their PC requirements and thus the company has decided to leverage this with its entry into consumer durables.

FPDs, including LCDs and Plasma TVs, have now become a style statement more than just a requirement for movie-watching and gaming purposes, and global majors from the ranks of Panasonic to Samsung to LG have also geared up for more competition in the year 2007.

The high-definition Plasma game, on the other hand, cannot be wiped out which industry experts believe is ''for the classes and not the masses''.

Talking to UNI, M Sathyan, Marketing Manager (New Business), Panasonic India says: ''Plasma and LCDs are both revolutionary technologies. The latter is for the masses while the Plasma is for those who have an enhanced lifestyle. The real game in the LCD category is only between 26-32 inches while Plasma which is a value game starts at 42 inches which is why the two are incomparable.

People are yet to understand the difference between the two.'' ''Looking at the buying behaviour of the Indian middle class, LCD TVs which are presently available at a price anywhere between Rs 40,000-60,000 in the market have an edge over the other flat panel category in this regard (due its size and price) but the other one cannot be ruled out at any cost.'' Last three years saw a sharp fall in their prices and the trend is likely to continue for a year or two, he opines adding that this year LCD players will get aggresive and focus on the 40 inches model so as to compete with the 42 inches Plasma.

The Indian arm of the Japan-based Matsushita Group is also looking at launching the biggest Plasma display monitor -- 103 inches -- in April this year.

Thanks to Matsushita Electric Industrial, the company behind the Panasonic brand, has teamed up with chemicals group Toray Industries to build the world's largest plasma TV factory in Japan at an investment of 280 billion yen. This plant will churn out one million units of the 42 inches model every month, the largest production capacity of plasma display panels in the world.

MORE UNI