Nowadays, managing wider portfolio becomes very challengeable for brands in so diversified market. They introduce multiple products in different verticals but gradually most of them don't succeed as this strategy need stronger channel network along with excellent service infrastructure across market. But Asus, the global market leader, has gained excellent traction when they introduced new products in various verticals last year. They have not only succeeded in establishing these products in the market, but these products are now well accepted by Indian customers. This has been only achieved as Asus already enjoy great support from channel and most important, Asus has large customer base across all verticals who trust the brand than anyone in this segment. The brand is growing with a good pace under the leadership of Vinay Shetty, Regional Director – CPN Business, India & South Asia, ASUS. He spoke to Telecom Today and revealed his growth story in 2019 and his entire channel plans for 2020.
Q: How do you see the brand's overall business growth in CY 2019?
A: Overall, Asus did extremely well in the last year and we concluded year 2019 on a positive note. Especially, if we look at the situation that prevailed in the DIY market in the first half of the year, our performance is remarkable. We are growing constantly since last so many years and keeping this trend, we grew 11% in terms of revenue YoY. The brand positioning in various new verticals of PC Gaming primarily with Gaming Routers, Peripherals, Power supply and Chassis, has helped us to offer a complete solution to the end user.
Q: What will be your overall business growth or target revenue for CY 2020?
A: We will be targeting close to 15% growth in CY 2020 since we will have more products to offer and this will help in reaching a wider market base. This is dependent on a lot of factors – profitability, service, focus on existing and new product verticals and introduction of one new product vertical. With Innovative and cutting edge technology products, the way forward will be less challenging.
Q: What will be your key focused products line-up in the year 2020?
A: The Component product line for Asus consists of over 9 categories and each category has its defined target segment and audience. With the growing market in WLL (Networking and Wireless), Gaming Monitors, Portable Monitors and Servers we know this would require undivided focus and attention. Keeping these factors in mind, we will nurture these growing verticals in our product portfolio. Another pivotal product vertical is – 'AIOT'. We will be announcing this officially for the India region. Globally the wheels for AIOT is already set in motion.
Q: What will be your channel strategy to drive substantial growth?
A: Our Channel strategy continues to Create More Opportunities with the help of wide range of product, training our partners to understand the benefits of selling based on feature and Improve their profitability. In the current scenario it's the prime responsibility of Brands to ensure that the eco system stays profitable and that is possible only when we train and stand firm on what we believe.
Q: How do you take care of service support for your loyal customers?
A: We are constantly monitoring the TAT for each product and with multiple user scenarios and expectations we are ensuring we can support our partners in a timely manner. The current service support mechanism is on some products through our Distribution partner, through our Channel Partners and Third Party Service affiliates. We are also closely monitoring online customer sentiment on our social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to address grievances and offer support. This is to ensure that our every customer gets the best service ASUS has to offer.
