Sony India sets Rs 150-cr mkt budget this festive season

Bengaluru, Aug 29 (PTI) Sony India has set up a marketingbudget of Rs 150-crore for the upcoming festive season and forthe entire year the company has set a target of Rs 420 crorefor the same, its Managing Director Kenichiro Hibi said today. "The festive period of August-November is an importantperiod for us to further enhance our sales. The marketingbudget for this year’s festive season will be 150 crore,besides Rs 420 crore for the whole year," Hibi told PTI here. Hibi was here to promote Sony India’s business inBengaluru and Karnataka. The company is expecting a positive growth this festiveseason as it would see major sporting events like New Zealandand England home series against India. "These cricketing events, especially the home series,boosts sales of television sets in India, unlike when itdoesn’t motivate customers when there are no sporting events,"he said. To a query, he said this year Sony is aiming 25 per centgrowth in customer audio and video segments across India. "This year, we are projecting to make 25 per cent salesgrowth in audio and video segment across India and Karnatakaregion should be bigger than that," he told reporters earlier. To another query, Hibi said Karnataka is the major marketfor Sony India contributing 10 to 15 per cent growth annually. "The total contribution of Karnataka to Sony India is 10to 15 per cent annually. This is one of the major marketsbecause we have 25 branches," he said. Also, the growth ratio compared to other states is thebiggest for Karnataka, he said. However, Maharashtra is on par with this neighbouringstate with similar growth charts, Hibi said. "The growth ratio of Karnataka is the biggest compared toother states. However, Maharashtra is registering similar growth, but Karnataka is clearly leading at this moment," he added. The company is doing good business in the premium segmentof Bengaluru market because it is able to match thetechnological demands of the people in the city, which is theIT hub of India, Hibi said. "The potential of Bengaluru market is good. We are doinggood business here because it is IT hub and customers seekgood technology and the company is able to match to theirdemands," he said. "Not only in Bengaluru, but also the company seescontinuous growth in other parts of Karnataka like Mysuru,Hubli and Mangaluru markets as well," Hibi said. PTI BDN RAAPRABI