Sharp is re-entering India in an alliance with Reliance Industries, with the Japanese electronic brand’s current owner Foxconn concluding a distribution and product development arrangement with Reliance Retail, the retailing arm of the country’s most valuable company.
According to Economic Times, two senior industry executives said Reliance Retail has the rights for the Sharp brand for television and home appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and air-conditioners for three years, and the arrangement will be extended if the response is robust.
Reliance will sell Sharp through its consumer electronics chain of more than 2,000 Reliance Digital stores, and will also distribute them to other retailers through its distribution arm that currently sells only mobile phones.
The Sharp range will be manufactured in India at Foxconn plants and Reliance has just made a soft-launch of the Sharp air-conditioners, with two models. The portfolio will be expanded and will include newer categories such as the 8K television, which no other manufacturer has launched in India yet. However, Foxconn has retained the rights for Sharp smartphones in India.
These will be launched by the year-end, the executives said. Reliance Digital CEO Brian Bade said the retailer has entered into a long-term exclusive partnership for the Sharp brand across all channels.
