Joining the bandwagon of low-priced personal computers, Hewlett-Packard India would launch sub-Rs 20,000 consumer desktops within the next three months.
"We will launch sub-Rs 20,000 PCs in the next three months," HP General Manager (Consumer Sales) V Krishnan told reporters in Kolkata on Thursday.
Admitting that the price would still be higher compared to the sub-Rs 10,000 brands launched by some competitors, Krishnan said the company intended to offer best value proposition to its customers.
"It's not possible for us to offer the cheapest model. Our aim is to mature a product which will have the best value proposition at that price level," he said.
The company, which has 14.5 per cent share in the Indian PC market, has also planned to offer a new economic package comprising desktop, printer, scanner, copier, etc.
Although Krishnan declined to state the configurations for the sub-Rs 20,000 PCs, he said: "We will offer the best configurations at that price."
"The PCs would be offered both with Linux and Windows operating systems and at least one model would have Intel processor," he said.
Talking at the inauguration of a premium retail outlet called 'Experience Zone' in Kolkata, he said the company achieved 40 per cent growth in PC sales in 2004-05 and topped the vendors in terms of sales in the last quarter (April-June 2005).
The sub-Rs 20,000 PCs would be produced at the Bangalore factory.
In the notebook segment, the company registered around 80 per cent growth last year. The sales of notebooks have improved significantly following a drastic fall in prices, Krishnan said.
About the PC market in India, he said the industry grew by about 20-25 per cent last year. The share of branded PCs in the total market, which currently stood at around 45 per cent, was expected to rise significantly following lowering of customs duty, he said.
He said the unbranded segment in PCs captured a portion even in countries like Australia and with lowering of prices, branded products would have an impact on the market.
Meanwhile, H-P has decided to open 50 retail outlets across the country in the next 12 months, he said.