Thomson TV aims to carve a niche in India through licensing

Television brand Thomson has made a comeback to the Indian market through licensing and in no time, it has disrupted the Indian TV market with its sky rocketing sales. The brand has great intentions of carving its own niche in market through online distribution, said Sebastien Crombez, Sales and Marketing Manager, Technicolor in a candid interaction with License India. What position are you looking to create in Indian market for Thomson?

I think positioning of Thomson is going to be different from other players in the market. Given the quality of TVs and the price points that we have chosen, we are going to carve our niche in the market. Thomson is known as a TV brand in India and they were successful in the past as well. I feel the consumers here will welcome the new models back in India.

What are your strategies for the same?

As of now, first we are launching the brand online with Flipkart and focusing on digital marketing as of now. The strategy as of now is to go full throttle online. We have social media pages, where we are sharing promotional content; we have announced special prices during the launch. And in future, depending on the market response we will plan further strategies.

What is the tenure of this deal with SPPL?

I can’t divulge the exact details but this is a long term deal with auto renewal clause. We know that both we and SPPL have spent a lot to bring the product to market and we really want to establish the brand Thomson in Indian market. In future we are looking to bring other products as well to Indian markets to strengthen the visibility and presence.

Why did you take the licensing route to India?

As licensor, we have the properties of the brand Thomson. We have also partners using the brand Thomson globally. We have partnerships with them. We have set standard guidelines for all our licensees to follow. And our business is to keep the level of the brand high to assure end consumer satisfaction. In the licensing business, the fact to know that this brand is being supported by many partners is in a way insurance for end consumers about quality. In my opinion licensing business is a safe way of being sure about quality.

How are you aiming to compete with established players in the TV industry?

We don’t want to take place of any of the other players, but to make our place in other segment of market. We see that India market is evolving and so are demographics and Indian market’s position at global landscape. We have taken time to select the right partner to mark our entry in India. We see that there exists a space for Thomson in here. We have kept the price extremely competitive with starting point being INR 13,499.