“Passion for Innovation & Customer-centricity Has Taken Acer to Unprecedented Levels”

“Passion for Innovation & Customer-centricity Has Taken Acer to Unprecedented Levels”

The passing year had given great heights to brand Acer in India. The hard work has paid off really well for the brand as they again succeeded in maintaining its leadership position due to excellent partner support. Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO & Consumer Business Head, Acer India, the man behind such extraordinary success in recent time, shared his game plan for year 2019.

DT: How has been the year 2018 so far for you?

Mr. Chandrahas: Year 2018 has been an astonishing year for Acer as we came up with some marquee launches including Gaming laptop, All-in-One's, convertibles, gaming chair etc. At IFA, we unveiled path breaking products like the Predator Thronos- the world's 1st gaming Cave. Swift 5, the world's lightest 15 –inch notebook, OJO 500, the first Windows Mixed Reality headset and first Virtual Reality headset to feature a detachable design and a refreshed series of aspire notebooks and Nitro monitors. We also recently organized one of the biggest gaming events in the country, Predator Gaming League, where we saw the largest PUBG PC LAN tournament and DOTA2 finale. Likewise, we also worked closely with the government and research institutions like IIT, IISc etc. to deploy supercomputers for complex research requirement, one such supercomputer is Param Ishan which we developed for IIT-G. This helped us spread our foothold across IT sector – right from innovative laptops to supercomputers.

DT: How are you currently working with your partners to strengthen your market position?

Mr. Chandrahas: Being a channel friendly company, we believe in growing with our channel partners. Our partners have played a crucial role in positioning Acer as a leader in the PC gaming segment and remain the key medium to reach out to our target audience. We are aggressively strengthening our partnership with the channel community to expand our presence. To keep pace with the dramatic changes in the IT landscape, Acer has been investing significantly in training, in-store merchandising with apt showcase/display of new high-end models, sales enablement, schemes and easy finance options. Our association with our channel partners has always been extremely rewarding, and further we believe in strengthening and supporting our partners by introducing exciting creative marketing promotion for both the channel partners and end users.

DT: What is your overall roadmap to escalate your growth further in CY 2019?

Mr. Chandrahas: 2019 will be another exciting year. We will be launching products which are unique to the market and at the fore-front of technology. Acer has always been a technology player that has introduced world to newer technology and continuing the same. We believe our IoT products cater to a segment which will really benefit from our expertise and not just limited to fancy or expensive solutions.  Acer has become synonymous with making bold and unconventional bets, often charting the course of the broader technology ecosystem. Acer's passion for innovation and customer-centricity has taken the company to unprecedented levels, and the company is well poised to change growth orbits and venture into new horizons in the coming years.

DT: How do you counter any existing business challenges in ICT market?

Mr. Chandrahas: The traditional retail business faces lot of challenges especially with the consumer behaviour changing into Omni channel model where they are comfortable buying online even when it comes to expensive technology products. They are well informed and researched before approaching the buying stage. Retailers need to provide the extra value of in terms of sales experience as well be competitive. Acer as the leading channel friendly company has worked closely with the partner community with various schemes, training and sales enablement to ensure our partner business remains robust and sustainable.

logo
Telecom Today
www.telecomtoday.in