The biggest cuts have been announced on its fully automatic washing machines. The company has brought down the price of its premium washing machine DW10, a machine with wash capacity of 10kg along with drycleaning facility to Rs 49,990 from the launch price of Rs 66,500. The similar model DW 1094 now retails for Rs 33,990.

Daewoo Anchor Electronics managing director TH Shin told The Financial Express that the company had slightly changed its policy on pricing in the washing machines segment. The company was constantly monitoring the pricing of the products in the market. He felt prices of the products need revision every six months.

Shin stated that the prices had been cut to bring down the psychological barrier which prevented consumers from investing inpremium products which offer better technology. "Consumers are hesitant to purchase high-priced products," Shin said explaining the company's decision to bring down prices.

Daewoo has reported a sales turnover of Rs 186 crore in 1998-99 and has set a target of achieving Rs 400 crore in the current fiscal and take it up to Rs 650 crore in 1999-2000, Shin said. The managing director is also confident that the company would be able to break even this year.

Shin said about 50 per cent of the turnover in the current year would come from sale of televisions, while the balance 50 per cent would come from frost-free and direct cool refrigerators, semi and fully-automatic washing machines and microwave ovens.

The company is, meanwhile, preparing to unveil a variety of new technologies in 1999. Daewoo is currently developing a new technology for televisions called the actuated mirror array (AMA) at its research centre. Televisions based on AMA will be five times more brighter than TFT-LCD. The commercialisationof AMA will take place in the latter half of 1999 and the company hopes to introduce it in India then. Daewoo hopes to display the AMA technology at the IETF 1999 to be held in January-February.

The company is also looking at introducing projection television and thin screen televisions here, Shin said. It is also planning to introduce low noise vacuum cleaners in April-May next year and airconditioners by the 1999-end.

Daewoo Anchor, meanwhile, is looking at commencing test production of semi-automatic washing machines and frost-free refrigerators at its facilities at Ranjangaon, near Pune, in December. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in January. Shin said the company expects to reach optimum capacity utilisation within three months of commissioning the factory. The company expects to manufacture about 4,000-5,000 cases per month of refrigerators and washing machine in the initial stage and then rev up production to 9,000 cases per month of each product.

Daewoo plans to launch frost freerefrigerators with cooling capacity of 200 litres and 300 litres once the Pune plant is commissioned.