[ad_1]
Himanshu Tandon, Country Head, Poco India | Photo Credit: Special Arrangements
Smartphone maker Poco has managed to carve out a niche despite growing under Xiaomi’s umbrella. It’s mostly confined to budget and mid-segment phones, but this could change in 2023. Himanshu Tandon, Country Head of Poco India interacted with hinduof Haider Ali Khan About the company’s plans in Japan. Edited excerpt:
Edited excerpt:
Poco is currently fluctuating between the budget and mid-segments. Beyond that, are you planning to move into the premium segment this year?
Himanshu Tandon: Currently, there are 5 series of C series with less than 10,000. [rupees]M series around 10k to 12k, M Pro series around 15k, next series around 20k to 25k, F series around 30k.
This year we are looking at whether we should move forward with models like the FY Pro or the FY GT based on demand, but we are seeing a normalization of demand due to inflationary pressures.
We certainly want to venture into this high-end category, let’s say the 30k to 40k price range.
(For insights on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, business, and policy, subscribe to our technology newsletter, Today’s Cache.)
Don’t you think this creates a conflict of interest for sister brands and confuses buyers?
HT: Poco’s target group (TG) is around 18-24 years old, mostly college students, while its sister brands are primarily new graduates. Considering their preferences, we still maintain a price-performance ratio.
We still focus more on performance because that’s what our TG demands.Poco’s design language is different from its sister brands. First of all, the difference in TG. Then there is the focus on price versus performance, and the design language. These are the three characteristics that set us apart from our sister brands and other competitors in the market.
Rising Average Selling Price (ASP) is a concern for brands. Will it also affect Poco and its TG?
HT: From an ASP perspective, Poco is harmless. This inflationary pressure and depreciation of the rupee will see a contraction in demand below $10,000 as the lower tiers are more affected.
With recent launches, the opportunistic segment is growing in the 20k to 30k price range, and we’re seeing a lot of launches, so ASP is actually higher. Overall, I think the normalization of demand below 10,000 segments will really increase ASP for brands.
Inflation is also having a negative impact on 5G adoption. do you agree?
HT: yes. We consider this inflationary pressure from an industry-wide perspective. We are seeing some normalization in terms of overall demand for smartphones. Adoption from 4G to 5G is the only area where the market can be seen growing due to his rapid expansion of 5G by carriers.
Many people are looking for 5G devices. This 4G to 5G upgrade provides an opportunity for the smartphone market to fundamentally expand its base.
People are preferring more 5G devices at lower price points. His 5G as a hygiene point is changing, which basically cues many brands to launch more 5G devices.
What is the future focus? The rise of 5G smartphones?
HT: From Poco’s perspective, it has adopted this conscious call that all newly launched products above a certain price point will be 5G devices.
Introducing quality 5G devices that meet all sanitary parameters around 10k is very difficult, but all brands are working towards it.
Since Poco is an online-only brand, what will be your market strategy?
HT: Until now, we have been an online brand and focused exclusively on online channels. We are a significant player on Flipkart, accounting for about 65% of all online sales. We are a very dominant player there, but given our growth, we challenge the offline space.
Is it a brick-and-mortar model or a different model?
HT: For offline, we will appoint direct distributors in the top 10 cities, and these distributors will supply inventory to our multi-brand outlets. As we are an online-centric brand, this will be a gradual approach. I don’t plan on spreading it all over the country. It will be a phased city-by-city approach.
How did Hardik Pandya become Poco’s new brand ambassador?
HT: 18 to 24 years old [years age group] Our target audience loves music, movies and sports. We were looking for someone who was rebellious, challenged the status quo, and lived up to the spirit of Poco.
Do you have plans to expand into other categories such as wearables and smart TVs?
HT: This year is the year we finally venture into non-mobile categories. So we have him in the final stages of two, three categories. This year, perhaps the first half of the year, will be a great time to break into non-mobile categories.
We create some India-specific products that are suitable for our audience.Poco Global expanded into non-mobile categories last year, but made a conscious call to create India-specific products. I was.
[ad_2]
Source link
