Onida Electronics is reinventing itself with a bold plan to open 100 stores and leverage AI, aiming to reclaim its place in an increasingly competitive and technologically advanced Indian market.
Campa Cola’s return to shelves is a reminder that a brand does not always disappear because consumers have stopped caring. More often, it fades because the market around it has changed. The same logic may now be working in Onida’s favour, as the old electronics name seeks a fresh role in a far more crowded and technologically demanding market than the one it once dominated.
Onida Electronics, formerly MIRC Electronics, is trying to rebuild its place in Indian homes with an ambitious expansion plan. LiveMint reported that the company wants to open 100 exclusive brand stores over the next two to three years, while still selling through thousands of existing outlets. The aim is to reach mass-premium buyers under new management, a sign that the brand is no longer content to rely on memory alone.
That effort is backed by a wider turnaround strategy. The Financial Express said Onida is focusing on broader distribution, better customer service, product innovation and the use of artificial intelligence as it tries to regain lost ground. The Times of India reported that the company has also rolled out a five-year plan called Onida Rewired, or Onida 2.0, built around doubling its retail footprint, strengthening after-sales service and repositioning itself as an affordable premium Indian brand.
The brand still carries some weight. Onida says it was established in 1981 and built a reputation in Indian households for televisions and other appliances, including air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, air coolers and microwave ovens. That legacy matters, but it is not enough on its own. As with many once-famous names, the challenge is less about remembering the past than proving the brand can still solve a present-day problem.
That is the broader lesson behind both Onida and Campa Cola. Some brands die because technology changes. Others are undone by regulation, economics or shifting consumer tastes. A few survive because they can reinvent themselves quickly enough to stay relevant. According to the Indian Express opinion piece that inspired this discussion, the real rival for any successful brand may simply be time.
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