Harman Pro’s Massive Expansion

Sushil John heads the mighty Harman Pro Group in India. After dipping its toe in the water last year the company has committed to a staggering 100 sq, metres this year — divided between HPro distributor, Hitech Audio Systems Pvt. Ltd and HPro dealer, Vardhman, who represented the brands on a reduced stand last year.

“We are participating on a much larger scale in order to showcase the larger products and the newer products as well,” confirmed Mr. John. At the same time another advocate of the Harman Pro brands is Modern Stage Service, purchasing HPro installation products from Hitech Audio Systems, while their touring division runs large-scale JBL VerTec and VRX systems in its rental fleet.

With nine brands under the Harman Pro banner, there are some major product showcases planned for this year. These include the new AKG, D40, D5 and C214 microphones; dbx’s SC32, SC64, DB10, DB12 and DriveRack PX processors; BSS Audio’s new Soundweb London BLU 120, BLU 160, BLU 320 and BLU 800 devices; JBL’s PRX Series and VRX Self Powered Loudspeaker Series; Crown, MAi amplification; Lexicon, PCM 96, and Soundcraft Vi6 digital consoles.

Sushil John can look back on an impressive year in which HPro has been responsible for supplying components to several airports, as well as stadiums, auditoriums, multiplexes, discotheques, lounges, bars, touring companies, boardrooms and meeting rooms, via its distributors, dealers, installers and AV integration companies.

He confirms that the industry is developing at an impressive rate. “The DJ market in particular, is definitely maturing, with users going in for mid to high end systems, while in the event sector 2008 has seen a number of high-profile spectaculars, requiring high production values, that have involved both domestic and international bands.”

Domestic bands who have played through JBL VerTec systems include Motherjane, Euphoria, Parikrama, Shaan, KK, Bhoomi, Shankar Mahadevan, Shankar Ehsan Loy, Bhandish and Sunithi Chauhan, while international bands include Lial, Virgil Donati and Iron Maiden, who mixed their show on a Soundcraft Vi6 in India.

When we spoke to Sushil at last year’s show he said, “The growth in the market generally has been phenomenal; Harman Pro has quadrupled its turnover here in the last two and a half years while the dealership base has increased in line with the economic boom in the country, particularly in malls and multiplexes.”

He is now able to reinforce that statement, by confirming that the steady growth of the HPro dealer network had now reached approximately 100. HPro holds regular training for AV integration companies and in association with touring company, Bangalore-based V&P Sound Pvt, holds training on the dbx DriveRack 4800, BSS FDS-366T and Soundcraft Vi6. “We also hold technical road shows in New Delhi and Bangalore, which we did last year and looking at making this an annual event,” Sushil confirms.

Like many in the industry he remains ambivalent about whether Mumbai or Delhi represents the optimum location for PALME India. “Holding the event in Mumbai has it advantages because of Bollywood, and the various studios located in Mumbai. However, holding it in Delhi would cater better to touring companies, DJ companies and installers.”

His target market is the medium-to-large installation sector, including the studio, cinema and touring worlds. “We certainly hope that this year’s show will go some way towards addressing this customer profile, as these are the market sectors in which HPro is keen to consolidate.”