THE TELESHOPPING BUSINESS IN INDIA

continued from : HOW THE INDIAN TELESHOPPING MARKET WAS WON

Since initially, only imported products were being offered and the market was very limited, companies did not find it commercially viable to prepare detailed infomercials for them. Hence, they offered dubbed versions (English, Hindi and other regional languages) of the original infomercials (made in different foreign languages).

As the product range expanded to include domestic products as well, the networks developed (shooted) infomercials in India. Most of these were developed in studios and featured well-known personalities such as former film and TV stars. However, dubbed versions of infomercials were used even in the early 2000s, as foreign products still formed a substantial part of product portfolio of all major teleshopping networks in India.

To ensure success, teleshopping networks paid special attention to their pricing strategies. In the initial years, most of the products offered by these networks were lifestyle products that came last in priority of a typical Indian household.

TABLE III
AIR-TIME OF MAJOR TELE-SHOPPING NETWORKS IN INDIA

Networ``k	Channels	Format	Air Per Day	Air Per Week
Asian Sky Shop	Zee TV, Music Asia, Zee Cinema Zee News, Zee Movies, Zee English.	1.5 minutes (min) infomercial 15 times a day on each channel for 7days of a week.	3 hours (hrs).	21hrs.
	Alpha Network - Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Bengali.	1.5 min infomercial 14 times a day on each channel for 7 days of a week.	1.24 hrs.	9.48hrs.
	Zee Europe, Zee America, Zee Africa	1.5-min infomercial 8 times a day for 7 days of a week.	36 min.	4hrs.
Total Air Time	-	-	5hrs.	35hrs.
Telebrands	CVO, In Mumbai, Also on South Channels	30 min program on week days only	1hr.	5hrs.
TSN	Gurjari, Lashkara	30-min program on week days only.	1 hr.	5hrs.
TSN	DD, Vijay, Star Plus (half-hour)	1-2 min infomercial 8-10 times of a day, on week days only.	16 min - 40 min.	1 hr 20 min - 3 hrs 30 min.
Total Air Time	-	-	1 hrs 16 min - 1 hr 40 min .	6 hrs 20 min - 8 hrs 20 min.
TSNM	DD Kannada, Sun TV	30 min program on week days only	1hr.	5hrs.
Star Warnaco	Star TV	1.5 min infomercial, 4-5 times a day on week days only	6 - 7.5 min .	30 - 37.5 min
TVC	Local Cable Networks Only	30 min program on week days only	30 min	2 hrs 30 min

Though the price of the products offered by various networks in the late 1990s was as low as Rs 500[1] , most of them were priced at a premium to target the upper classes. However, over the years, the number of utility products increased and the price of the products was also brought down to make them more affordable. In 2002, the price of the articles offered ranged between Rs 200 to Rs 12,000, with a majority of the products falling in the Rs 1,000-5,000 range.

The teleshopping networks competed with each other in terms of offering the same benefits at lower prices. This was particularly observed for various weight reduction products. All the networks marketed different gadgets that claimed to reduce weight derided the offerings of rival teleshopping networks claiming to be cheaper and much more effective. Hectic activities took place on the promotional front as well, with networks offering 'early bird' prizes, price reductions, money return (if not satisfied with the product) offers, free accessories and double product packs at the same price.

For effective distribution of their products, the networks focused on strengthening their franchisee base across the country. All the major networks in India had their franchisers across major metros and semi-metros in the country. Towards the end of the year 2001, the franchisee network of Telebrands India extended to over 90 cities across the country, while ASK's network spanned across 60 cities. The networks provided the telephone numbers of all their distributors at the end of their infomercials, so that the customers could call their nearest distributor for further enquiries or to place an order.

On receiving a purchase order from a customer, the product was delivered to him/her through courier. Payment was generally made on delivery of the product. Unlike the late-1990s, when products were only delivered against cash payment, in the early-2000s, the networks began accepting credit cards to encourage customers to respond to their offers.

As a result of all the above initiatives, the awareness about the merits of teleshopping increased. Customers, who followed global trends in lifestyles and product usage, began to buy teleshopping products, and the market picked up momentum. In 2001, the market registered an annual growth rate of over 20% and amounted to Rs 500 million. In 2002, Telebrands led the market with an estimated turnover of over 250 million, followed by ASK with a turnover of over 200 million.

TELESHOPPING TRAUMAS

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

^[1] In September 2002, Rs 48 equalled US $ 1.

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