The famous Preethi brand of small appliances is going to get a new high profile owner. The Dutch consumer durable giant Philips has agreed to acquire the assets of this homegrown brand.This move came as a huge surprise and I never thought that Preethi could be a candidate for acquisition. Preethi brand was founded in 1978 and the owners - M/s Maya Appliances has carefully nurtured this brand.
The brand developed its mixer range quite beautifully and through careful product development and meaningful advertisement campaigns. The brand had constantly adopted the positioning based on durability and reliability which was communicated through the tagline " I Guarantee ".
Now once the acquisition is over, it will be interesting to see how the brand will fit into Philips' overall branding strategy.There are chances that Philips will use Preethi as a sub-brand with endorsement from Philips.
It is also interesting to see how the brand image of Preethi will change with the endorsement from Philips. Suddenly the homegrown image of Preethi will vanish.
Through this acquisition, Philips will gain huge market in the mixer grinder segment. Philips will also get instant sales and service network of Preethi ( even though Philips has its own robust distribution network).More than that, Philips will get that vital market knowledge that Preethi had acquired over these years.According to news reports, after the acquisition, the company will be run by existing promoters. It will be interesting to see how this acquisition will turn up for this nice brand.
Related Brand
Great news... Always great for small companies to make some coin on a good merger.
ReplyDeletePreethi is a household name in India. I still remember having its grinder at my home and those ads which flashed in doordarshan. Feels good to know that it has been acquired by a giant brand.
ReplyDeleteGreat story. Also visit my blog at dranil-marketingmusings.blogspot.com for marketing and sales articles
ReplyDeleteGood for Preethi and good for India itself. It cannot be denied that Phillips is a big name in the appliance market and acquiring a local manufacturer will definitely help boost the economy and thus opening more jobs to the people. Great news and thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteWish this brand last long and Philips invests more to build better and useful products in this brand portfolio. A home grown brand standing up for so long is a great achievement. Preethi has its fan following. I am a happy consumer of their mixers. Wish good health and better life for Preethi with the new owners.
ReplyDeleteSorry, it is good but not rust proof
ReplyDeleteI feel that Preethi, after being acquired by Philips, will have decreasing Market share. Though the name Philips is famous almost throughout the world, Philips has not been a much of success story in India. I think they will fail to gain the market growth trend set by Preethi.
ReplyDeleteHere i beg to differ. Though Philips is successful and well reached as a brand almost all the parts of World, including India, i think it won't be able to build a successful reputation and have market share that Preethi had. Though they are mature competitors, they are yet to understand the mindset and the interest of Indian customers. That is why Philips is not highly regarded as a success story in India.
ReplyDeleteSmart move by Philips. With the popularity and market share Preethi is enjoying, especially down south, this has all it takes to be counted as a winner for Philips.
ReplyDeleteBut from the branding sense it is to be seen how Philips help Preethi maintain its 'home grown', 'affordable' and 'reliable(tough and suitable for our grinding needs)' images that made it a darling of thousands of middle class house wives.
Preethi mixer grinders were good when they were new, but started making a whole lot of noise after a year or so... Hope Philips can fix this...
ReplyDeleteExcellent article. It is also exciting to look how the product picture of Preethi will modify with the approval from Philips. Philips will obtain large industry in the tubes, bulbs, mixer grinding machine section. It will also get immediate revenue and assistance system of Preethi. That's excellent for Preethi and suitable for Indian itself. Philips is effective and well achieved as a product almost all the areas of the World, such as India, I think it will not be able to develop a effective popularity and have business that Preethi had. Company Swot Analysis
ReplyDelete