HISTORY OF BPL British Physical Laboratories Group (BPL) is

an Indian electronics company. It makes health care equipment. It was founded in 1963 in Palakkad, Kerala, and is headquartered at Bangalore, Karnataka.

BPL chairman and managing director Ajit G. Nambiar 

BPL marked its emergence as one of India’s most high-profile companies. During its prime, BPL would regularly feature among the top 10 brands in the country.

 

About BPL

VISION:- Vision was to make BPL a household name.

MISSION:- Mission is concentrated on importing technology, improving product quality, innovations and manufacture of electronic products that enhanced the quality of life

Factors affecting BPL INTERNAL FACTORS:- Management changes Effectiveness of communication level

of family-friendliness Culture change Financial changes and/or issues suppliers

EXTERNAL FACTORS Competitors cultural factors Technology   government

SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths1 Ranked among the top 100 most trusted

brands in India 2 Tie up with Sanyo for technology transfer to

manufacture CTVs

3. Strong brand with a legacy of making smart and popular TVs

4. Brand had strong advertising through TVCs and print media

5. Entire portfolio includes Medical equipment, televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves & audio equipment

Weakness 1.Expansion into

several unrelated sectors led to the downfall

2.Lack of economies of scale compared to the Korean giants

3.Being an Indian brand leads to lower brand perception compared to the global brands

OpportunitiesThreats

1.Medical devices market is likely to grow annually in the coming years2. Growing consumer appliances market in 2,3 cities

1.Overseas competitors winning over BPL’s customer segment2. Rapidly changing technology and new features being added by foreign players

Competitors

1)Samsung2)LG

Electronics3)Videocon

BPL’s grand strategy for growth Intensive Growth:-

Adopts Product Development in Current Markets or Penetration in Current Market 

Integrative Growth :- A growth strategy in which a company increases its sales and profits through backward, forward, or horizontal integration within its industry.

Diversification :-

1.Diversified into Soft Energy, Telecom and Power Sector 2.Increase Capacity and Upgrade Technology

Joint Venture with Sanyo  the BPL Group and Japanese electronics major

Sanyo Electric Company Ltd, who formally started their 50:50 Joint Venture.

They, however, decided to market their brands separately with BPL focusing on the volume segment while Sanyo brand positioned itself as the value driver.

In May 2007 after the failure of Sanyo BPL venture. The attrition in rate in Sanyo BPL was 70%. BPL concentrated 100% on Healthcare Business group Started Sales and Service Support for PIX and re branded the Service operations under "SURECARE" brand .

Reasons for failure of BPL Simultaneous expansion into several

unrelated areas of business Lack of financial discipline The entry of LG and Samsung BPL’s Partner Sanyo itself Faces Challenges and was Eventually Bought out by Panasonic Didn’t have a clear strategy for growth in

consumer durables Dissension in family

Conclus on  BPL has followed a combination of

Intensive, Integrative & Diversification strategies for growth.

 It is a close Challenger in its Core Business segments & claims to be a leader in a few (Color TVs, Refrigerators & Automatic Washing Machines.) 

It follows a clear Product Quality Philosophy, Premium pricing, Strong distribution & Promotion.

BPL enjoys high awareness & Brand preference, but suffer from blurred image. 

Presently BPL faces challenges due to financial problem, promotion weakness & entering of new competitors in the market.

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