As the most celebrated sporting event — the FIFA World Cup — is just a month away, domestic distributors of televisions are expecting a surge in sales.
As the most celebrated sporting event — the FIFA World Cup — is just a month away, domestic distributors of televisions are expecting a surge in sales.
The FIFA World Cup 2014 is scheduled to begin from June 12 in Brazil.
Most of the popular TV brands like LG, Samsung, Sony and Hisense have launched new models and promotional campaigns, particularly targeting the Kathmandu valley where football is more popular. Others are busy sketching plans and offers to woo prospective buyers during one of the most-watched sporting extravaganza.
Television dealers say the World Cup is no less than a big festival as sales jump dramatically. Ganesh Raj Pandey, deputy sales manager at Him Electronics, authorised distributor of Samsung, said the company is expecting to sell 20,000 units during the event.
“We have come up with a wide range of LED TVs featuring smart technology, 3D and wireless connectivity, among others,” he said. “TVs with larger screens will be the choice of most of the customers as they prefer watching matches in big screen.”
Pandey estimated that the overall sales in the domestic TV market would jump 50 percent during the World Cup.
Subash Shrestha, sales and marketing manager of Nepa Hima Trade Link, authorised distributor of Sony, said they are expecting customers’ rush from the first week of June. “The
World Cup fever has already gripped many, and we are prepared to launch various marketing activities.”
Nepa Hima is all set to launch seven new models targeting the World Cup, besides attractive promotional schemes. “We will be introducing new TVs in 32- to 70-inch variants within the next two weeks,” said Shrestha. “We have targeted to launch the Sony 4K Ultra HD TV which comes in 55- and 65-inch variants.”
Ashish Tibrewala, director of Navin Distributors, authorised distributor of Hisense, said they are expecting strong demand for TVs in the 32- to 42-inch segment.
Nepali customers are price conscious, so they will be searching for TVs costing from Rs 35,000 to Rs 70, 000, he said. The company plans to sell 3,000 units of television during the World Cup season. “We will be offering various World Cup schemes as well,” he said. However, some traders are sceptic about a sales boom due to the time difference. They said sales were unlikely to jump like the previous versions of the World Cup the matches this
will be broadcast in early mornings in Nepal.
“As the scheduled matches are at odd hours in Nepal, sales would not be as high as previous World Cups, when Nepali viewers were able to watch the matches in the evening,” said Ramesh Shrestha, general manager of CG Electronics, authorised distributor of LG. The company expects a 25 percent rise in sales.
However, to make it easier for the people to watch the football matches as per their convenience, LG has introduced a TV that features in-built “time machine” that allows viewers to record programmes automatically.
The company will also be launching 10-12 new TV models within a month.
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