HOME THEATRE SYSTEMS

Understanding consumer psyche

NOWas a retailer we have to understand the consumers psyche, changing spending habits and increasing purchasing parity. We have created a 5000 sq ft area especially for this where we have displayed seven screens with different combinations with home theatre systems, adds Srikanth Gokhale.
In the Rs 1100-cr Indian audio systems market, the contribution of conventional music systems to the overall sales of audio systems has come down from around 35% to a lower single digit figure, according to industry estimates . Agrees Murali Sivaraman, MD & CEO of Philips Electronics India, who feels that home theatres will see the fastest growth in the near future. We are enjoying double digit growth in this segment and have big plans for the future, he told SundayET.
But apart from home theatres, the culprits for this murder seem to be iPods and music phones. Music has become more personal, argues Tiwari. Consumers can now download the music they want and dont have to get into the hassle of operating a music system where they have to skip through tracks to locate the one they want to hear. Case in point: Over half the music industrys Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) now come from the mobile space.
This perhaps also explains the spurt in sales of smaller audio systems known as micro-hi-fis . According to ORG-GFK figures, during the January to April period this year, sales of micro-hifi systems have risen by almost 21%. The major differences between a mini-hi-fi system and a micro-hi-fi system lie in their size and power (expressed in watts). Mini-hi-fi systems are about 30 centimetres wide, whereas micro-hifi systems are never wider than 22 centimetres and are significantly less powerful.
But in the long run, companies are betting on home theatres to spearhead the audio market here. Conventional audio systems are dead, states Jung Soo Shin, president & CEO, Samsung India Electronics. Hence, its not a surprise to see companies such as LG and Samsung gearing up to launch new home theatre systems with enhanced features such as Bluetooth, HDMI (high definition multimedia interface), sound enhancement technologies and futuristic designs.
In hindsight, John Denver predicted this homeward-bound trend a long time ago. What was that again... Country roads, take me home...
john.sarkar@timegroup .com