Sharp Phils eyes bigger share in local appliance market

MANILA, Philippines - The local unit of Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. may post lower export revenues for its fiscal year ending in March next year due to declining demand abroad. But Sharp Philippines, Corp. is looking at almost doubling its sales locally to P4 billion by 2012. Emmanuel T. Valencia, Sharp Philippines executive vice-president of sales and marketing, on Thursday said export sales "will probably be the same [as last year] or might even go down." For the year ending in March, the company sold P600 million worth of washing machines, which the company makes at its Alabang plant in Muntinlupa City. The units are sold to Japan, Indonesia and the Middle East. Mr. Valencia, speaking on the sidelines of a product launch, said demand for the company’s washing machines made in the Philippines has slowed abroad and faces competition from more advanced washing machines built by either Sharp or its competitors. Despite the slowdown in export sales, the company said it would ramp up efforts to increase its local market share. Sharp Philippines President and General Manager Kenji Okunaka also said the company seeks to be the top electronic appliance maker here in the next five years by targeting both high- and low-income markets. Mr. Valencia said sales in the Philippines would be led by conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) television sets, which are cheaper than liquid crystal display (LCD) high-definition TVs. He said the annual demand for TVs in the country is expected to reach 1.1 million units, with as much as 90% of customers coming from the C, D, and E markets. He noted that while LCD TVs remain one of the company’s flagship products, CRT TVs, which like their washing machines are built here, cater to a much bigger market. The company also plans to improve sales by offering environment-friendly and energy-efficient products. Meanwhile, Mr. Okunaka said the company would be investing $2 million in its manufacturing plant in Muntinlupa. The money, he said, would be used to develop improved versions of products made in the country. He said most of the company’s expansion efforts have been concentrated in Japan, where the company is building a $3.2-billion manufacturing plant in Sakai City, Osaka. Expected to open in late 2009, the new plant, where the company will build its new line of Aquos LCD TVs and solar panels, will be bigger than its manufacturing plant in Kameyama, also in Japan. Sharp has around 560 employees in the Philippines working at its Muntinlupa plant. — Paolo Luis G. Montecillo, BusinessWorld