Their timing is strategic. India’s $75 billion consumer electronics market is projected to nearly double to $130-150 billion by 2029 per Redseer. Still, Japanese companies represent less than 5% of the market, estimates Praxis Global Alliance, a management consulting firm. To reassert themselves, these firms enter with narrower portfolios and well-thought-out strategies, betting on reliability, design and premium value.
India’s new strategy
OM System formally re-entered India this year with a range of cameras and lenses, five years after its withdrawal when Olympus transferred its imaging division to Japan Industrial Partners.
“Our decision to return to India was a very conscious one. It has shown that the Indian industry is growing rapidly and if any brand is to be successful in the next few decades, India will be a very important market. It made perfect sense for us to come back,” said Vivek Handoo, Vice President, Head of APAC and Managing Director, OM System.
“In hindsight, we probably should never have left. But better late than never,” he added.
The company realizes that to appeal to the masses in India’s price-sensitive market, it needs to balance entry-level offerings with premium models and overcome its reputation of only high-end cameras.
“To reach the masses and play the volume game, price will be important,” said Handoo, “we want to have a clear strategy covering both entry-level and premium products – entry-level to capture consumers early and young, and premium for those willing to spend millions.”
The company is betting on the rise of outdoor photography and content creation to drive growth, even as weddings remain the largest segment of Indian photography.
A similar balancing act is also underway at Akai, which is attempting a comeback in India through the air conditioner (AC) market. The brand left the main presence in India around 2009, after its licensing deal with Videocon ended.
“We will position Akai India in the premium value space, not the highest price bracket…” said Anurag Sharma, CEO and Managing Director, Akai India. “Our goal is not to win price wars, but to gain consumer trust through long-life products, thoughtful features, and after-sales reliability. Customers today don’t just want affordable ACs, they want ones that last longer, use less energy, and improve their environment.”
His bet comes amid a planned boom in demand. India is expected to add 130-150 million new AC units over the next decade, which could increase peak power consumption by 180 gigawatts by 2035, according to a study by the India Energy and Climate Center at the University of California, Berkeley. “The air conditioner market in India today is where the television market was two decades ago – full of potential, fueled by rising aspirations and ready for thoughtful innovation,” Sharma said.
JVC, once a well-known TV brand in India, has disappeared from the market in the last decade as competition intensified. It made a comeback this year through a licensing partnership with Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL) and launched a range of made-in-India smart TVs.
Incumbents are also adapting
Other Japanese majors such as Sony, Panasonic and Hitachi have remained in India but are also reshaping. They are focusing on profitable categories such as large-screen TVs, premium devices and B2B solutions, freeing up low-margin entry segments and avoiding price wars caused by Chinese brands.
Others such as Sony, Panasonic and Hitachi never completely left India, but are reshaping their playbooks – focusing on more profitable large-screen TVs, exiting low-margin segments and avoiding price wars waged by Chinese rivals.
Panasonic, for example, abandoned refrigerators and washing machines this year as part of a strategic restructuring. The company reported sales ₹9,872.8 crore in FY24, slightly lower than the previous year, with a profit before tax of ₹779.7 crore, according to regulatory filings sourced from Tofler.
“Our decision to streamline certain product categories is in line with our global strategy. We are targeting future-ready growth segments including home automation, HVAC, B2B solutions, wiring and energy solutions,” said Tadashi Chiba, managing director and managing director, Panasonic Life Solutions India.
Air conditioners remain Panasonic’s strongest consumer category, growing more than 45% in FY24, with smart models now accounting for nearly half of sales. “The premium wave is visible across segments, from large-screen TVs to smart ACs. For TVs, for example, we are seeing increasing demand for 55-inch and 65-inch models. For air conditioners, customers are increasingly opting for connected and inverter models. This indicates that consumers are willing to pay more for products that offer long-term quality and smart features, and at the same time, they are energy efficient,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sony India announced the sales ₹7,663 crore in FY24 with a net profit of Rs ₹168 million.
Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Hisense and Haier and online firsts like Kodak and Thomson have led years of aggressive discounting. This price pressure has even forced Korean giants Samsung and LG to introduce cheaper lines.
Why it makes sense
Analysts say Japanese companies are now repositioning after losing ground globally. “Some of the established Japanese brands have lost market share and their competitive edge. As they renew portfolios globally, they are relocating to India to regain market share,” said Madhur Singhal, managing partner, Praxis Global Alliance.
Unlike their Chinese competitors, the Koreans avoided “irrational” discounts, but expanded product portfolios to reach the mass market. “Some of the discounting was tactical during the festival sales, but the e-commerce marketplace is now also addressing profitability,” noted Singhal.
Japanese brands, he added, still have moats in reliability and construction, but Gen Z consumers follow trends and want to be on the cutting edge of technology. Holding and use cycles are getting shorter, and longer life is less important for lower value consumer electronics, Singhal explained.
For the Japanese consumer electronics giants, India’s challenge is not so much to regain lost glory, but rather to find a sustainable foothold in a crowded, fast-moving market. By banking on reliability, design and long-term value, they hope to differentiate themselves from discount-minded rivals. The real test will be whether these trenches still matter to a new generation of Indian consumers who value trends, upgrades and speed over durability.
