Japanese electronics brand Aiwa plans $10 million investment for India re-entry

Japanese electronics brand AIWA, which registered its India subsidiary in February this year, is relaunching with five products in TWS and audio segment at a total investment outlay of $10 million for phase-1 of operations, company's India MD Ajay Mehta told ET.

It is also looking to establish a manufacturing base in India by direct investment in greenfield projects as well as partnering with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the second phase, which will begin in the September quarter. It is looking to participate in the government’s production-linked incentive scheme for hearables and aims to establish India as its export base.

“AIWA India has been given the mandate to establish an export base for Made in India products. We are excited to launch brand AIWA in India and embark on a billion-dollar revenue target with the brand in India,” Mehta said.

The brand is targeting a top line of $1 billion in the next five years and has chalked out the plan, to begin with, audiovisual devices and televisions. AIWA will launch five TWS and audio products this week in the premium and mid-premium category and has partnered with Amazon in the online channel and 500 Reliance Digital/Jio stores in the offline channel.

It has, however, delayed the launch of its high fidelity speakers due to a shortage of electronics components in the global market, Mehta said.

AIWA is a Japanese consumer electronics company that was a global player in the 1970s but exited in 2003. It was sold to Sony, which rebranded it as a ‘youth-focused, PC-centric’ electronics brand but was discontinued in 2006. Towada Audio, based in Tokyo, owns rights in Japan and elsewhere and has been manufacturing Aiwa-branded products since 2017.

It is re-entering India on its 70th anniversary after a span of 18 years.

“On the 70th Anniversary of AIWA Japan, we are thrilled for our products to reach Indian consumers via our newly-formed regional headquarters (RHQ) at New Delhi,” said Shouichi Kure c.i, MD & CEO of Aiwa Electronics International Co Ltd (Tokyo, Japan).

“The launch of our audio range shall be followed by our high fidelity speakers, televisions, air purifiers, and many more. We shall work closely with our RHQ to let the Indian consumer use our products and enjoy 70 years of Japanese legacy,” he said.