Consumer durables and electronics industry continues to hire aggressively
The consumer durables and electronics industry continues to hire aggressively.
I was clear I wanted to join the consumer durables and electronics space," says Rajeev Tandon, 23, who graduated from Mumbai's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) last year. "It is an industry that gives you well-rounded experience." His is a wise choice. It is a paradox that in a time of overall economic gloom, an industry that banks on conspicuous consumption for its growth continues to do well. Estimated at around `70,000 crore, the consumer durables and electronic goods market is expanding at 10 to 15 per cent annually.
"Unlike with real estate and other investments, people have not really scaled down their buying of consumer durables or electronic goods, which are nowadays considered basic," says Vikram Chhachhi, Executive Vice President, DHR International, a global executive search firm. "Despite the blips this space faced, the overall outlook for the industry has remained good." It follows that the demand for fresh talent in this sector will also continue. Industry players confirm his view. "We hope to increase our talent pool for research and development (R&D) by almost 45 per cent," says Sanjay Bali, Senior Vice President at Samsung India.
Samsung's R&D centre in India is its largest outside its Korea headquarters, employing over 6,000 people. The company also intends to hire more talent for its retail and enterprise divisions this year.
Sony India recently announced it would be hiring at least 500 more people in India, where it is a leading brand in categories such as flat television sets and digital cameras. India is one of the Japanese giant's top five markets globally. Panasonic, another Japanese player, which has recently ventured into new categories here, has also been hiring hard while carefully crafting its strategy in India. "The last two years have been the formative years for Panasonic and saw aggressive hiring across different departments such as sales, marketing and other support functions," says Prashant Deo Singh, Head of Human Resources and General Affairs, Pana-sonic India.
This year, Panasonic will focus more on stabilising the newly introduced systems and processes. Sales and marketing will continue to be the focus areas of headcount additions. It also intends to strengthen its business-to-business (B2B) sales division, besides its business-to-consumer (B2C) business. "We will also be hiring people for our upcoming manufacturing plant at Jhajjar in Haryana," says Deo.
Where are the new hires coming from? "Most durables and electronics companies have been hiring from within," says Mahadevan R., Director at Career Avenues, an executive search firm. "For some key senior positions they look at talent from outside the industry as well." These lateral entrants could be from across sectors, especially FMCG and telecom. A career in consumer durables and electronics is as high profile as that in FMCG, feel many observers.
"Unlike with real estate and other investments, people have not really scaled down their buying of consumer durables or electronic goods, which are nowadays considered basic," says Vikram Chhachhi, Executive Vice President, DHR International, a global executive search firm. "Despite the blips this space faced, the overall outlook for the industry has remained good." It follows that the demand for fresh talent in this sector will also continue. Industry players confirm his view. "We hope to increase our talent pool for research and development (R&D) by almost 45 per cent," says Sanjay Bali, Senior Vice President at Samsung India.
| WHO IS HIRING Sony, Samsung, Philips, Panasonic, Onida, Hitachi COMPENSATION (per year) CXO-level: More than Rs 1 crore Senior-level: More than Rs 20 lakh Mid-level: Rs 8-14 lakh Junior-level: Less than Rs 8 lakh |
Sony India recently announced it would be hiring at least 500 more people in India, where it is a leading brand in categories such as flat television sets and digital cameras. India is one of the Japanese giant's top five markets globally. Panasonic, another Japanese player, which has recently ventured into new categories here, has also been hiring hard while carefully crafting its strategy in India. "The last two years have been the formative years for Panasonic and saw aggressive hiring across different departments such as sales, marketing and other support functions," says Prashant Deo Singh, Head of Human Resources and General Affairs, Pana-sonic India.
This year, Panasonic will focus more on stabilising the newly introduced systems and processes. Sales and marketing will continue to be the focus areas of headcount additions. It also intends to strengthen its business-to-business (B2B) sales division, besides its business-to-consumer (B2C) business. "We will also be hiring people for our upcoming manufacturing plant at Jhajjar in Haryana," says Deo.
Where are the new hires coming from? "Most durables and electronics companies have been hiring from within," says Mahadevan R., Director at Career Avenues, an executive search firm. "For some key senior positions they look at talent from outside the industry as well." These lateral entrants could be from across sectors, especially FMCG and telecom. A career in consumer durables and electronics is as high profile as that in FMCG, feel many observers.
