Big TVs Punjabis’ new fad

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 14

Living life king size has always been the style of Punjabis. This is often reflected in their buying behaviour, especially when it comes to owning luxury cars, bungalows, luxury watches and gold items. But these days they are splurging on 4K or ultra-high definition premium LED and OLED televisions that range between 43 inches and 75 inches. This segment is unperturbed by slowdown and is growing by 100%.

According to manufacturers, besides high per capita income, Netflix and Amazon have pushed 4K content greatly on their streaming platforms and this gave fillip to the demand for larger screens. According to a senior official working with leading manufacturer, in Punjab, people prefer to live in bungalows instead of flats and so they prefer larger screens in TVs as the bigger screen intensifies the entire viewing experience.

“Punjab is one of the most potential markets for us as people are quality conscious here and willing to spend. It contributes around 5% to the overall premium segment LEDs sales in the country. In the current season, we have set a target of 100% growth in premium television segment and we expect the Punjab market will grow in line with nation,” said Sunil Nayyar, managing director, Sony India.

The structural shift in premium segment emphasises the increasing relevance of digital economy and rise in emerging middle-class consumers. Better connectivity in the state has fuelled unprecedented aspiration and access to information.

Also, with consumers upgrading from small to mid-and-large screens, the shift has led to an increase in sales of smart televisions and ultra-high definition televisions above 43 inches.

The overall television market is pegged at around 1.10 crore sets annually. Out of this, the premium segment contributes 10% to the total market. The 32-inch category dominates the market with a share of around 60%.

According to Yogesh Bhatia, MD, Detel, Punjab has a huge potential for big screen TVs such as 40-inch and above. The per capita income of the people of Punjab is also higher as compared to many other states in India.

“We are also foraying into Punjab market aggressively into large distribution. We are geared up not just with our range of televisions but also with our home theatres as Punjab is the biggest non-film music market in the world,” he said.

To have bigger pie of the premium segment market, almost every manufacturer is eyeing this segment with new launches. Sony has already launched models in this segment.

Premium TVs are also a major area of focus for Samsung as the company believes that customers upgrading to bigger TVs to improve their viewing experience will drive growth.

As consumers’ preference for larger TVs is increasing, Samsung is also targeting significant market share in TVs that are sized 75 inches and above.