INDIAN COLOUR TV SALES SET TO CROSS 5 MLN MARK.

NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The booming colour television (CTV) industry is expected to sell a record five million units this year, much against predictions of gloom, with Indian brands maintaining their dominance over the fiercely aggressive international ones.

The year also saw a consolidation among existing players with BPL unshaken at the top and Onida usurping second position from Videocon, as per market research agency ORG.

Despite MNC aggression, the top three Indian brands BPL, Onida and Videocon together held sway over 40 per cent of the CTV market by reducing margins, and consequently prices. This also helped reduce the grey market share, which was earlier as high as 70 per cent of the total market.

Korean brands LG and Samsung gained significant share of the market, while Japanese major Sony languished at below five per cent marketshare levels.

Yet another remarkable trend during the year was the waning of freebie and gifts' mania. While players attribute this decline in freebies to booming sales, marketeers said it was plain boredom of the consumer and that the market was looking for novel ways to push CTVs.

So, while growth rates may have suffered this year, unable to keep pace with the 25-30 per cent earlier due to the economic slowdown, market analysts agree that CTV purchase still tops the family list of a lifestyle/durable product.

What does differentiate brands is the number of latest technological features it offers, be it the country's first internet TV by Videocon, SOny's Wega super flat range, LG's Flatron or the `designer' TV from Onida.