Hidenori Aso, the Managing Director of Panasonic India Pvt Ltd was in Kathmandu recently for Panasonic Small Appliances Dealers’ Meet. In an interview with New Business Age , Aso shared ideas about different home appliances from Panasonic and his plans for popularising the brand in the Nepali market. Excerpts:

 

What brings you to Nepal?

We are launching a range of new products that include Micro Wave Oven, Hair Dryer and Straightner, Men’s Shaver, Travel Shavers and Trimmers, Vacuum Cleaners, Blenders/Juicers and Food Processors. We also have a new rice cooker which we have customised as per the Nepali consumers’ requirement. Ours is not just a rice cooker, it can also make various other dishes. Here in Nepal, Momo is very popular. So, we have modified the product and added a Momo-maker to it. We are confident about the quality of our product. And we are providing five years warranty to the heater of the cooker. Our local business partner here, Triveni Byapar Company Pvt Ltd, is aggressive about increasing the business here. We especially want to increase our small appliances business here.

 

How is your small appliances business doing in the Indian as well as other markets?

Our business is doing quite well in India. In terms of growth, the market is almost doubling every year which is very encouraging. Next financial year onwards, our cooker factory will start producing one million cookers on an annual basis. Besides India, we are also trying to penetrate into other neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and of course, here in Nepal.

 

You have high end products like HD TVs as well. What is the market response for such products?

We have already launched the 3D Viera in India as well as here in Nepal. The response is quite good. The market for air conditioners is also expanding in India.

 

What is your expectation from the dealers meet that you have organised?

At the dealers meet, we want to showcase our new products such as the Momo-maker. We want to emphasise on the point that Panasonic’s quality is the best. Therefore, we are giving five years warranty for the heater, the main component of the cooker. We also want to increase our network. This is why we have invited 150 dealers from all over Nepal for the meet.
 

What is the market share of Panasonic products in Nepal?

We are currently at par with our competitors here when it comes to the market share. But we are going very aggressively about our business. I am confident that we can significantly increase the sales of Panasonic products in Nepal with our business partner.

 

How do you distinguish yourself from the competition in the market as there are numerous brands selling similar products?

Our advantage is that we have a wide range of products with us. We have some products that our competitors do not have. For example, small appliances, kitchen appliances, beauty and health care products etc. We also have TV and Air Conditioners. When it comes to having a wide variety of products, Panasonic is definitely the market leader.

 

What are the challenges you face in the local market here?

Talking about the challenges, we don’t have good human resource here. We are trying to build a competent work force now. We are trying to make it more professional because Nepal, in general, follows very traditional methods. But since ours is a very professional product category, we need to change things around. We hope that doing so will appreciably boost our sales figures here.

 

What are you plans for expanding the market here?

At the dealers’ meet, we have the provision of ‘on-the-spot booking’. We are giving very good incentives to our dealers which will help them gain momentum in the market. It will ultimately popularise our products and give us a strong foothold in the Nepali market.