`By 2005, 60% of all consumer durables sold in India will be digital'

`By 2005, 60% of all consumer durables sold in India will be digital'
SWATI PRASAD

In a short span of four years, the Rs 1,056-crore LG Electronics India Limited (LGEIL) has grabbed a good share of the consumer durables market in urban and rural areas alike. The parent has more serious plans for India. And the LG Electronics Inc Vice-Chairman and CEO, John Koo, was here in the Capital last week to announce an additional investment of US $185 million by 2005 into its Indian subsidiaries LG Electronics India Private Limited (LGEIL), LG Information and Communication (LGIC) and LG Software India (LGSI).

LGEIL, on the other hand, has broadened its product range. From televisions and microwaves with display in regional languages, LGEIL has come out with a range of digital products in the upper segment of the market. And by the end of this year, there will be more high-tech consumer goods from the LG basket which are digital in the true sense of the word. These convergence products come fitted with web browsers and promise to make the life of its users a lot simpler. Ajay Kapila, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, LGEIL, spoke to about the scope of digital products in the country. Excerpts:

With erratic power supply even in the metros, do you think digital products are commercially viable?
Digital products are a thing of the future. However, any global company must showcase its strengths. LG wants to state that it is future ready. We are commercially launching a range of digital products this year.

These developments have been the result of huge investments and time. Since the parent has already made those investments and produced the world's first range of convergence products, it is but natural to bring them to India in order to expand our product portfolio.

How popular are digital products in South Korea?
In South Korea, 30 to 40 per cent of all consumer goods sold are digital products. In India, however, its not just in the hands of the consumer and the manufacturer to adopt digital technology, but a lot depends on the government. The government must improve the infrastructure. For digital products require an uninterrupted supply of electricity which is not even available even in the metros. Digital televisions will make sense only when the government sets the ground free to enable digital transmission.

The process of accepting digital products has already begun at the consumer's end. For example, 80 per cent of all fully-automatic washing machines that we sell in India today are digital. What's more, 30 per cent of all colour televisions that LGEIL sells are digital televisions in one way or the other (in the sense that they enhance the quality of the transmission and are also ready for digital transmission). In the next five years, 60 per cent of all consumer durables sold in India will be digital.

Isn't your competition also offering digital products?
Digital is a technology that makes life easier for the consumer. Not many companies are doing that. LG is making digital an attitude and is spending heavily on its digital campaign.

Convergence means that a product, for instance a TV, serves the purpose of a TV, a telephone, a web browser and a computer. For convergence technologies, you need a common platform which is digital technology. Not many companies are doing that. LG is concentrating on four areas entertainment, home appliances, multi-media and telecommunications. And we are adopting digital technology on all the four platforms.

On the one hand LG is launching these high-tech products, on the other you talk of a focus on the rural buyer. Isn't there a dichotomy here?
The rural consumer won't be an alien to digitalisation. In fact, the rural buyer is rather discerning and is not going for just the cheapest products.

He'll be open to our digital products as well. But I can't offer an internet-ready refrigerator to a rural buyer who does not get power in his home.

What will be the price of your internet-enabled microwave ovens and refrigerators?
These products are around 50 to 60 per cent costlier than the existing non-digital versions. The refrigerator would cost over Rs 2 lakh while the washing machine would cost around Rs 35,000.