The Onida devil makes a comeback

For all those who grew up in the eighties and early nineties, the iconic tagline — ‘Onida: Neighbours Envy, Owners Pride’ — remains unforgettable. This was a time when colour television was just beginning to make inroads into the market and not many Indian households could afford one. Nor were there too many television brands available.

Onida entered the market with the promise of delivering the highest-quality visual and sound experience. Hence, the tagline ‘Neighbours Envy, Owners Pride’ and the devil, which was portrayed in a positive light, made perfect sense.

As the years passed and the consumer durables sector witnessed the entry of giants such as LG, Samsung and several others, Onida was unable to retain the attention of Indian consumers. Despite repeated attempts at revival, the devil lost its power. The brand started losing market share, and the company became loss-making. The promoters of MIRC Electronics saw greater value in contract manufacturing.

In FY26, the company posted a loss of ₹74 crore on revenue of ₹671 crore. However, the Mirchandani family decided to make one final attempt to revive the brand by putting in place a professional management team. Last year, Authum Investment and Infrastructure made a ₹149-crore equity investment through the preferential route. Earlier this year, the family also hired industry veteran Gunjan Srivastava (former MD of BSH Home Appliances), who joined the company as MD and CEO.

The company has also exited contract manufacturing, which had helped maintain its topline even as the Onida brand was losing ground.

“When they started talking to me, they (the promoters) were clear that they would step back from an operational perspective. They were looking for financial investment. They wanted to have the right leadership team in place that they could completely trust to take Onida to the next level,” says Srivastava.

Incidentally, the first television set he bought when he started working 31 years ago was an Onida.

A New Lease of Life

So, what is Srivastava's game plan?

“Make Onida top of mind,” he says.

The brand still resonates with consumers aged 45 and above, but it does not connect with the younger generation, who are the decision-makers today. That needs to change.

The brand is currently available in just 4,500 stores, and Srivastava wants to increase that number to at least 10,000. His strategy is to first penetrate Tier-II and Tier-III markets before expanding further into the metros.

“We have a very low market share in an industry that has grown multiple times over the last 10–15 years. We have consistently lost market share. As a result, there has been a lack of ability to invest in the right areas such as innovation, people and capabilities.”

Srivastava has identified three core categories — air conditioners, televisions and washing machines — on which he wants to focus before entering adjacent categories.

“The idea is to first build these categories to a market-share level where we can be among the top 10 players in each of them. Simultaneously, we will build our distribution network and strengthen customer service delivery.”

“Within the go-to-market strategy, a key element is increasing our presence in retail outlets. While we plan to expand from 4,500 to 10,000 outlets, we are very clear that we want at least 1,000 outlets where we undertake gold-standard activation. This will include displays, in-store communication and well-trained promoters so that we can improve conversion.”

However, reviving a brand in a crowded market will not be easy.

Will the devil make a comeback in the brand's communication?

“How to reposition the brand is also part of the transformation exercise. Do we retain the same devil, or do we have a transformed devil? Or do we have a devil at all? These are all questions that we are going to answer.”

Srivastava has tremendous confidence in Onida's product quality and technology. He wonders why the brand never adequately communicated these strengths to either trade partners or consumers.

“Onida TVs have always stood for the best audio experience. Even 30 years ago, the TVs that Onida sold delivered the best audio experience. So, if you combine the picture and the audio, you get the best cinematic experience. Our TVs still offer the best cinematic experience,” he claims.

“We have an in-house sound team that is constantly innovating. We offer the best sound output not by a small margin, but by a significant one. However, what we have not done so far is get this certified through an independent laboratory,” he adds.

He says Onida was among the first companies to launch air conditioners that could be operated through SMS.

“This was 7–8 years ago, when smart ACs were still a distant concept.”

Betting on the India Story

Onida, says Srivastava, will play in the mid-market segment, competing with brands such as Voltas, Godrej, Haier and Lloyd.

He acknowledges that the market is crowded, but believes India remains a market where multiple purchase drivers coexist.

“There are customers who are replacing products because the existing product has failed or because the replacement cycle has arrived. More importantly, there are consumers who are buying appliances for the first time.”

“There is massive potential because penetration levels in these categories remain low. Air-conditioner penetration is still at 11–12%, washing machines are also in the same range, while refrigeration is at around 35%. So, there is substantial first-time buying potential,” he explains.

The company is also looking at institutional cooling solutions and partnerships with real estate companies.

“We are not present in that channel at all. That accounts for about 10% of the market, which we are currently missing.”

Onida's transformation journey, says Srivastava, has begun on a war footing. Whether the iconic brand can once again resonate with new-age Indian consumers is something that remains to be seen.