Forgotten Brands – Dyanora
Dyanora, the first to launch black and white televisions, was among the market leaders especially in the Southern part of the country
In the 1970s and 1980s, licence raj severely limited the production and distribution of televisions. Those businesses who obtained a licence saw their profits soar in the absence of rivals. Dyanora was one of these brands.
Founded in 1973 by the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation and businessman Obul Reddy, Dynavision Ltd. was the owner of Dyanora TV. From 1975 through 1995, it was manufactured by the thousands. Even though television ownership was more of a novelty back then, the brand dominated middle-class households in the southern regions of India.
Copywriter/author/entrepreneur Ravi Menon combined the terms “dynamic” and “ora” to create the name “Dyanora” for Obul Reddy.
In 1975, Dyanora became the first Indian company to mass-produce black-and-white TVs; by 1982, the company had introduced colour sets.
When the government began erecting more transmission towers around the nation in the 1980s, TV marketers finally saw meaningful growth in their sales.
During the years of the licence raj, Dyanora quickly rose to prominence and became the de facto standard.
Abolishing the “licence raj”
Since company permits were handed out much more freely during the economic reforms of the 1990s, Dyanora lost some of its lustre. Many medium and small-sized businesses entered the television manufacturing and distribution markets as a result of the open license policy.
In the past, Dyanora had only to contend with Solidaire, but the playing field became more competitive.
Dyanora was up against competition from both global and domestic giants, as well as smaller regional rivals. In such a cutthroat environment, it perished. Profitability was negatively impacted as demand started to fall.
The brand did not make it. The corporation, like its customers, was uncertain about the brand’s trajectory, when up against established rivals,
Similarly, Dynavision favoured expanding an international brand over developing the domestic Dyanora.
The firm and the French giant Thomson International formed a joint venture in 1995 to market Thomson products in India. Dyanora was banished to the sidelines while everyone paid attention to Thomson. Dyanora’s market share declined significantly due to consumers’ preference for competing national and international brands.
In 1999, the firm was acquired by BIFR and subsequently disappeared. A new line of TVs with the brand name has been introduced recently.
Reference
http://marketingpractice.blogspot.com/2009/02/dyanora-rip-1975-1995.html
