DSK to bring TCL digital products

PUNE: Chinese CE major TCL is eyeing the Indian market for desktops, laptops and digital products aggressively and is aiming to capture the market through a tie-up with DSK.

It plans to introduce a digital portfolio in the Indian market as well as strengthen its channel footprint across India significantly.

Milind Kshirsagar, executive director and CEO, DSK Worldman Computers Pvt. Ltd, a new tie-up between TCL and DSK, told CyberMedia News here that the new venture will start looking at digital offerings like MP4 Players, mobile phones, digital gadgets, USB, pen drives, etc. in 2008.

They would however be completely imported and not assembled here. Meanwhile, the tie-up will make inroads in the desktop and laptop market through import and assembly operations.

“There is a huge opportunity in the Indian market. With Desktops are growing at 23 to 24 per cent, TFT growing at 100 per cent and laptops at 73 per cent, there is attractive market for these categories,” he said.

DSK is expecting a target sale of 40,000 units (24,000 monitors, 6000 laptops and 10,000 desktops) in the first year. Apart from the present manufacturing facility at Wagholi, that has a capacity of 300 computers per day, he is also upbeat on future scale-up requirements given the vast land bank under DSK’s umbrella.

Initially, Laptops and TFT Monitors would be imported, whereas Desktop Computers would be assembled in Pune. Assembly operations of Laptops would start happening in Pune from the next financial year.

Pune-based Rs 1600 crore DSK Group, that has been active in construction, automobile, education, IT training and software development, has recently inked an exclusive arrangement with Worldman Technology Company Limited, a TCL Group Company by floating a new company DSK Worldman Computers Pvt. Ltd, that will assemble, sell and service the IT and Digital Products of TCL in India.

Under this tie-up TCL will offer its brand and technical know-how, whereas DSK Worldman will make the necessary investments to carry out the business operations. Commenting on future interest areas of DSK, Kshirsagar added that, “We would be open to adding related products like scanners in the future.”

DSK has made initial investments of Rs 25 crore for infrastructure, setting up an assembly unit, establishing distribution and sales network across India and for inventories.

The purported aim is to be amongst the top five brands in the IT and Digital Products category in India in the next five years.

Kshirsagar added that the plan is to cover the top cities in the first phase with 2500 resellers by March 2008. The company has started appointing distributors in the cities such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

To begin with, three models each of laptops, desktop computers and TFT monitors are launched in India.

TCL Corporation is a major consumer electronics enterprise in China that also has a manufacturing base in Vizag, that Kshirsagar denied to have any conflict or overlap with the new tie-up.

TCL's clocked global revenues of $6.7 billion in 2006, and has distributors and agents in over 40 countries and regions selling TVs under the TCL, Thomson and RCA brands, as well as mobile handsets under the TCL and Alcatel brands.

In 2006, more than 21 million TV sets and 11 million handsets were sold worldwide.