“The Indian CE market is mostly driven by price rather than technology”

- Advertisement -
Gopal Jeyaraj, country head –
India and SAARC, Anker Innovations

The consumer electronics and accessories market is certainly growing, and this trend will continue in the coming years. The main factor behind this growth is the popularity of smartphones. Yet, in India, smartphone penetration is less than 45 per cent of the overall market. This means there is a huge potential for growth which will, in turn, continue to drive the accessories market. To get more insights into the Indian accessories market, Nijhum Rudra spoke to Gopal Jeyaraj, country head – India and SAARC, for the brand Anker (one of five key brands owned by Anker Innovations), about why India still has not been able to compete with Chinese and ASEAN electronics manufacturers, and how the company intends to strengthen local manufacturing.

EB: The Indian consumer electronics (CE) market is booming but we are not able to beat China and the Southeast Asian countries when it comes to the demand for high-quality CE products. What do you think are the reasons for this, and what are the steps your firm has taken to address this problem?
The CE market is growing in India, but it’s very dynamic and mostly driven by price rather than technology. However, the scenario will change as consumers have started expecting better quality products at affordable prices. This will drive every brand to focus more on technology-driven devices rather than on low quality products, specifically for the Indian market.

EB: What do you think are the various challenges that the CE and accessories sectors face in India? And how do you plan to address them?
The main challenges faced are related to products in the grey market – there is a price conflict between the organised sector and the grey channel. In order to avoid these challenges, we have clear strategies with respect to GTM (go-to-market) and channel deployment. We drive our business through our distributors, which helps us in controlling all grey channels. We also very clearly segregate our products on the basis of price and features, which helps satisfy all the margin requirements of channels. The right pricing to the end user helps us to avoid price conflicts and price erosion.

- Advertisement -

EB: Founded in 2011, Anker is now a globally renowned brand available in over 100 countries, including the US, Germany, the UK, Japan and China. So where is the company headed now?
Anker was founded in 2011 by Steven Yang (an ex-employee from Google). When it started, Anker was predominantly an online brand, but later we started focusing on global offline channels too, and we now have the leading market share in a majority of the countries we operate in. Anker Innovations comprises five brands, and our plan is to become the market leader in all the five categories we are focusing on.

EB: How many R&D centres do you have right now? Do you have plans to set up new ones in India? And have there been any recent patents filed for new-age products?
Our big R&D centres operate out of Shenzhen, China. Every year we make huge investments in R&D as that is Anker Innovations’core strength. This is reflected in the technology we incorporate in each and every one of our products. We do not have any plans, as of now, for R&D centres in India. We hold a total of 452 patents, and we are working on more new technology for all our five brands, to make more innovative products at an affordable price.

EB: Can you elaborate on the business model of Anker India and your global plans?
Our business in India is mainly through distribution partners. We have long term partners to support us in establishing a base across India, for all the brands under Anker Innovation. Our mission is to become the market leader in our category by providing quality products at an affordable price. We are making that possible by satisfying the requirements at every level in our entire channel, right up to our end consumers.

EB: You have launched several new products in India and are also associated with Amazon for Alexa-enabled devices. Tell us more about this.
We are very strong on Amazon and we work on making Alexa-enabled devices under most of our brands. We have Alexa-enabled speakers launched under our brand Eufy, and we recently launched a car charger with Alexa, under the brand Roav. We are planning to build a smart home ecosystem using Alexa-controlled smart home devices. We have plans to launch these in India in a phased manner.

EB: What are your marketing strategies that help you stay ahead of the competition?
We focus on our strong retail strategy. We take care of our distributors and retailers, meeting all their expectations, which in turn helps us in competing in this price-sensitive market. Our aim is to offer innovative and technology-driven products to all our consumers at an affordable price.

- Advertisement -

Most Popular Articles

Automotive car sensor

ISRO Chairman Urges Association With Automotive Industry To Produce Sensors Locally

0
The space research organization is making significant strides in creating indigenous car sensors to empower the automotive industry. At the Bangalore Tech Summit on November...

U.S. Approves $1.5B Subsidy For GlobalFoundries Expansion

0
Winning the $1.5 billion US government subsidy, GlobalFoundries is looking to power industries like automotive, IoT, and defence with advanced chip manufacturing in New...

Trump’s Tariff Plan Could Derange Electronics Pricing

0
From disrupting global semiconductor supply chain to inflating iPhone prices, what can Donald Trump's proposed tariff raise on Chinese imports can cause? Donald Trump,...
Chip Manifacturing-NIvidia

New Blackwell Chip Will Propel Nvidia’s Unprecedented Market Growth In Coming Years

0
These chips have effectively dispelled concerns regarding potential pullbacks from tech giants investing heavily in AI processing and data centers. The global AI backed fabless...

David Goeckeler Appointed Chair Of SIA Board

0
Bringing 40 years of tech experience to lead the global semiconductor industry, David Goeckeler, CEO of Western Digital, joins to lead the SIA Board...
Abhishek Malik from Calcom Vision Limited

“India’s Electronics Sector Is Growing Rapidly, Making This The Decade For Investors To Engage”...

0
From the complexities of manufacturing and sourcing components to testing processes that drive innovation, know all the exciting dynamics shaping this ever-evolving industry in...
Sunit Kapur, CEO of Epsilon

“Epsilon Leads With Low-Carbon Graphite Manufacturing, Outpaces Chinese Competitors” – Sunit Kapur, CEO of...

0
Are LFP cathodes and silicon-graphite anodes the best for cost efficiency in EV batteries? Sunit Kapur, CEO of Epsilon Advanced Materials, discusses this with...
John W. Mitchell, President and CEO, IPC

“India’s Core Focus On 5G, IoT, AI Fosters Need For Advanced Electronics,Components, And Semiconductors”...

0
Will Industry 4.0 supercharge India’s progress in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing? IPC President and CEO John W. Mitchell shared more strategies on the country’s...
Raman M., Co-Founder and CEO, chargeMOD

“Our Goal Is To Achieve Complete Sustainability By 2025-2026” – Raman M. Of chargeMOD

0
In a conversation with Nitisha Dubey from EFY, Raman M. of chargeMOD, elaborated his goal of developing virtual power plants by decentralising power production. Q....

“Adoption Of IoT-Enabled SMT Machines Is Still In Early Phases” – Pradeep Tandon, Director...

0
While electronics are becoming smarter through the Internet of Things, is electronics manufacturing following suit? Pradeep Tandon, Director for India, Middle East, and SAARC...
Applied Materials Representational Image

Applied Materials Selects Six Startups For Deep-Tech Accelerator Programme

0
The selected deep-tech startups will be evaluated for investment by Applied Ventures and potential collaboration opportunities with Applied Materials. In collaboration with the company's India...

Space tech Startup Akash Secures $68M CHIPS Funding

0
Eyeing to power into AI, EVs, and more high-tech industries, Akash Systems lands $68 million CHIPS grant to boost its cooling tech facility, generating...

Wireless Light-Based Communication With Velmenni’s Technology

0
Velmenni is at the forefront of wireless communication innovation with its pioneering light-based technologies, Li-Fi and LC Link. Founded by Deepak Solanki in October 2014...

Harnessing AI Technology For Efficient Pest Management

0
AI-Genix, an agri-tech startup, is transforming pest management for farmers through advanced AI-enabled systems that precisely target harmful pests. In an industry where pesticides and...

One Charger To Charge All Your Devices

0
Now, there is no need to carry different chargers for different products. This Bhubaneswar startup has launched a universal 65W charger using GaN technology...

Industry's Buzz

Learn From Leaders

Startups