Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is setting its sights on disrupting the dominance of multinational corporations in the Indian consumer electronics and home appliances market, according to The Economic Times. Their weapon: A new brand called Wyzr , built entirely in India. With Wyzr, Reliance reportedly plans to do a "JioPhone' in the appliances market in the country. The company is said to be aiming to achieve similar sustained success by riding the "make-in-India" wave with Wyzr.
"Reliance had earlier disrupted the MNC-dominated feature phone market with its own product, JioPhone. It wants to replicate the success in electronics in a sustained manner, riding on the make-in-India wave," an executive told ET.
RIL is reportedly finalising production agreements with domestic manufacturers Dixon Technologies and Mirc Electronics, the parent company of Onida. Their long-term plan is to establish their own manufacturing facilities after Wyzr gains a foothold in the market.
The Economic Times reports that Reliance Retail, the company's retail arm, has already launched Wyzr air coolers. This is just the beginning, with televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, small appliances, and LED bulbs planned for the future. Uniquely, Reliance intends to design and develop these products in-house, differentiating themselves from previous private label attempts like Reconnect.
Distribution Strategy and Target Market
Wyzr products will be available through Reliance Digital stores, independent dealers, regional retail chains, and e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. JioMart Digital (JMD), which handles B2B distribution of electronics, will play a key role in getting Wyzr into other stores, leveraging their growing merchant base.
The target market for Wyzr is budget-conscious consumers. The Economic Times states that Wyzr products will be priced competitively against established brands like LG, Samsung, and Whirlpool.
Learning from the Past
Incidentally, this isn't Reliance's first foray into the electronics market. They previously launched the Reconnect brand, but it saw limited success due to reliance on third-party design and manufacturing, with limited marketing efforts.
In 2022, Reliance acquired a 50.1% share in the Indian entity of US-based manufacturing solution company Sanmina for Rs 1,670 crore to expand into the electronics manufacturing segment. Sanmina has a 100-acre campus in Chennai where it may set up a plant for Wyzr products, an executive said. "But nothing has been finalised and the priority is to launch the products right now," he added, as per the report.
Reliance Retail still uses the Reconnect brand for accessories. It acquired the licence for BPL and Kelvinator brands a few years back and launched a few TV, refrigerator and washing machine models without gaining any significant market share. These products were designed and manufactured locally by companies such as Dixon, Mirc and PG Electroplast while some were imported from China and Indonesia, produced by TCL, Midea and Toshiba.
"Reliance management felt that it needed its own brand where it can firmly control the product design and manufacturing to win in this market," an executive said.
RIL seems to have learned from these missteps. Wyzr represents a more comprehensive approach, with in-house design, control over manufacturing through partnerships and potential future facilities, and a wider distribution network.
"Reliance had earlier disrupted the MNC-dominated feature phone market with its own product, JioPhone. It wants to replicate the success in electronics in a sustained manner, riding on the make-in-India wave," an executive told ET.
RIL is reportedly finalising production agreements with domestic manufacturers Dixon Technologies and Mirc Electronics, the parent company of Onida. Their long-term plan is to establish their own manufacturing facilities after Wyzr gains a foothold in the market.
The Economic Times reports that Reliance Retail, the company's retail arm, has already launched Wyzr air coolers. This is just the beginning, with televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, small appliances, and LED bulbs planned for the future. Uniquely, Reliance intends to design and develop these products in-house, differentiating themselves from previous private label attempts like Reconnect.
Distribution Strategy and Target Market
Wyzr products will be available through Reliance Digital stores, independent dealers, regional retail chains, and e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. JioMart Digital (JMD), which handles B2B distribution of electronics, will play a key role in getting Wyzr into other stores, leveraging their growing merchant base.
The target market for Wyzr is budget-conscious consumers. The Economic Times states that Wyzr products will be priced competitively against established brands like LG, Samsung, and Whirlpool.
Learning from the Past
Incidentally, this isn't Reliance's first foray into the electronics market. They previously launched the Reconnect brand, but it saw limited success due to reliance on third-party design and manufacturing, with limited marketing efforts.
In 2022, Reliance acquired a 50.1% share in the Indian entity of US-based manufacturing solution company Sanmina for Rs 1,670 crore to expand into the electronics manufacturing segment. Sanmina has a 100-acre campus in Chennai where it may set up a plant for Wyzr products, an executive said. "But nothing has been finalised and the priority is to launch the products right now," he added, as per the report.
Reliance Retail still uses the Reconnect brand for accessories. It acquired the licence for BPL and Kelvinator brands a few years back and launched a few TV, refrigerator and washing machine models without gaining any significant market share. These products were designed and manufactured locally by companies such as Dixon, Mirc and PG Electroplast while some were imported from China and Indonesia, produced by TCL, Midea and Toshiba.
"Reliance management felt that it needed its own brand where it can firmly control the product design and manufacturing to win in this market," an executive said.
RIL seems to have learned from these missteps. Wyzr represents a more comprehensive approach, with in-house design, control over manufacturing through partnerships and potential future facilities, and a wider distribution network.
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