Expect double-digit growth this festive season: Daiwa CEO Arjun Bajaaj

The supply chain disruption due to the global semiconductor shortage has led to a challenging situation in keeping up with the high market demand for televisions this festive season. Even though most of the plans of television company Daiwa are moving slow, including future product line and launches, and there are delays in production, the company expects double-digit growth this festive season.

"The situation has also led to a delay in production, impacting the festive season, where the demand is on a higher side. Now we are planning much in advance for the coming months and even lifting many raw material items such as open cell by air despite the increase in freight prices by 5-6 times to meet the festive demand," says Arjun Bajaaj, CEO and founder of Daiwa and director of Videotex International Group.

Daiwa has witnessed an increase in demand over the last few weeks as the festivals are approaching and is hopeful that the ongoing momentum will help make up for the losses due to the pandemic. "For us, the festive season usually contributes to over 35-40 per cent of the annual sales. We are hopeful for a good festive season and expect to achieve good double-digit growth," Bajaaj said.

Commenting on the products that Daiwa plans to bring into the market, Bajaaj says, "Since the beginning of COVID-19, we have stocked a very planned inventory. For instance, there have been frequent changes in the price of the open cell component, adding to the significant cost of the TV. Hence, from the beginning, we have used various means to protect the bottom lines from escalating input costs."

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Daiwa claims that it planned sufficient inventory, forecasted the demand and target, and closely monitored the market situation. However, due to shipment delays in both air and sea shipments from China, the company had to face production delays which impacted production by almost 30 per cent.

Unlike Xiaomi, Realme and OnePlus, Daiwa is emphasising on offline sales. As a part of the strategy, the company will be focusing on offline markets and expects strong traction with several exclusive deals and offers for Daiwa products.

"The ratio for us shall be 80 per cent offline and 20 per cent online. We are also promoting our very Daiwa e-store where customers can come and buy directly from our website and we have seen a fantastic response since we launched our 4K Smart TV powered by webOS TV in July," adds Bajaaj.

In the initial two years of operation (started in 2016), Daiwa claims to have seen more than 100 per cent growth. The company has also grown over 40-50 per cent YoY despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

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