News Detail

• In an interview with ET Now, Venugopal Dhoot, CMD, Videocon, talks about the telecom and oil business. Excerpts:

• ET Now: If you could just walk us a little through your expansion plans because as far as your retail business goes you are looking to treble the store count?

• Venugopal Dhoot: Yes, I explain you what is Videocon, is a consumer durable multi-brand company having various brand. Then as an expansion we have gone into retail, then we have gone into DTH business and also in telecom business. This is the one side of the Videocon that deals with the consumer. The second side is oil and gas. We are having Ravva oil field where the expansions are going on and we are having price oil field in Mozambique, which is in talks across the globe because the Cove Energy has given a very big offer and my share is getting valued at $3 billion, so that is a good news for us. And then we are having several oil field in Brazil, Indonesia etc. Everywhere the expansions are going on. These discoveries require a lot of investment also and that can be served from our various financial positions. And in Indonesia also, oil fields are very good. So, these are the plans of Videocon in time to come.

• ET Now: But to focus specifically on your retail business you normally invest close to a crore in a store in terms of expansion and than work on a model of 50% franchise and 50% of your own is that the model that you are going to adopt this time around and if you could also just take us through the target that you have for your consumer durable business for the year?

• Venugopal Dhoot: Yes, consumer durable business actually we believe more on our retailers. But, nowadays a trend has been started that the company has started its own retail shop. This is because we are a multi-brand company having brands like Videocon, Kenstar, Kenwood, than Electrolux, Kelvinator, Philips. So, all these brands we put in one shop and that shop can sell all of our products. The shops include products like colour TV, washing machine, refrigerator, air-conditioner etc, and that is giving us a very good success. And that is why we are going for the retailing of the same. Some parties bound by the franchisee and some is given by us, so it is working very good.

• ET Now: If we could just focus on your telecom business what is the status over there and what is the extent of write-offs that you will have to absorb on account of the telecom licence getting cancelled?

• Venugopal Dhoot: At the moment, there is no question of write-off. We have pleaded to the central government that we are innocent, we have not done anything wrong. CBI has given us a clean chit and Supreme Court has also found us a clean company. So, on that basis we think that we will get back our licence when the auction takes place. Videcon brand has got a power, got a magic and we get the customers. Even after cancellation of the licence, we got some 6-7 lakh customers without making any effort and after getting the licence we are sure that we would be getting lot of customers. Wherever the Videocon goes, Videocon becomes number one. Whichever town we have gone into, we became number one in no time. Same is the case with DTH. DTH, we started later but in whichever town we have gone, we are number one there from the beginning. So, Videocon brand has got power and we can utilise that at a lower cost of service etc and giving the best quality service to the customer. We are in around 15 crore homes, that is why customers will be easy for us. We believe in telecom business, we believe in Government of India and some justice will be given to us.

Source