Chennai: The 45-year-old consumer electronics brand Onida, synonymous with its horned devil and the tagline ‘Neighbour’s Envy, Owner’s Pride’ in the 1980s and 1990s, is attempting to reinvent itself in a market now dominated by global and Chinese brands after a challenging phase.A decade of inconsistent branding, weakening dealer relationships, a shrinking retail presence and poor after-sales service eroded its market share and financial performance. “We should have been a much bigger player by now,” Gunjan Srivastava, CEO & MD, Onida Electronics, told TOI.The company has unveiled ‘Onida Rewired’ (or Onida 2.0), a five-year turnaround strategy under which it plans to rebuild the business by doubling its retail footprint, expanding exclusive stores, strengthening after-sales service and repositioning itself as an ‘affordable premium’ Indian brand, hoping that trust and familiarity will continue to carry weight in a crowded market. It is targeting multifold growth through expansion across distribution, products, branding and service.The immediate priority is rebuilding distribution. Historically dependent on multi-brand outlets, Onida’s retail network shrank alongside its business. “Our immediate objective is to double our retail network of about 4,000 outlets over the next three to six months, while identifying about 1,000 priority outlets for enhanced product displays, in-store branding and sales staff training. This expansion will be one of the biggest drivers of our growth, and the objective is to grow faster than the market,” he said.The initial focus will be on Tier II and Tier III cities before expanding into larger urban markets. The company also plans to open around 100 exclusive brand outlets over the next two to three years.Televisions, air conditioners and washing machines will remain Onida’s core categories, backed by product innovation and a broader portfolio. “In washing machines, we want to strengthen our presence across all segments—from washers and semi-automatic models to fully automatic top-load machines. Over time, we will also expand into front-load washing machines,” he said at an event where it launched its 100-inch LED TV.Onida will continue to rely largely on contract manufacturing, although it owns a washing machine factory. “For most of our other product categories, we work with strategic contract manufacturing partners,” he said.Srivastava said scale would drive long-term financial performance through better sourcing, innovation and operating leverage. The company will focus on pricing discipline and an improved product mix to boost EBITDA margins, though it has not set a timeline for returning to sustained profitability.The company is also rethinking what its iconic devil should represent. “Should the association with the devil continue? If it does, what kind of devil should it be? More importantly, why should consumers choose Onida today?” Srivastava said. The intention is to preserve one of India’s strongest consumer electronics identities while giving it contemporary relevance.In FY26, revenue fell to about Rs 660 crore from Rs 747 crore in FY25, while the PAT widened to Rs 75 crore from Rs 2 crore.
