The role of component players is really important for technology industry to grow with full pace. They do all the hard work to bring best quality products for all size of customers to help them build their dream PC. Yet the year 2018 was not so good for such brands who are mainly into component business due to many challenges. But Gigabyte has been able to hold its growth momentum despite all challenges in Indian market. They are still ruling the market by offering innovative, reliable and affordable PC solutions across all consumer segment. The brand successfully established its wide range AORUS products in the market which targets high end PC users like gamers. The brand is really happy with the response so far and has already chalked out their plan to tap this huge opportunity in Year 2019. Sunil Grewal, Director, GIGABYTE Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd. revealed his channel and marketing plans for this new year with DT.
DT: How has been the year 2018 for you?
Mr. Sunil: FY 2018 was a roller coaster ride for the DIY market. H1 2018 was as expected with consistent DIY numbers. From September onwards, Intel CPU supply was tight, and at the same time the US Dollar price was high which increased the component cost and in turn disturbed the DIY market. There are also challenges in recent years due to the proliferation of smartphones. On the other hand, the higher end of the PC market (gaming, productivity, industrial applications) is growing and we have made big inroads there this year. As GIGABYTE we are ready for these challenges with our strong portfolio.
DT: Please brief about your channel ecosystem in India. How are you currently working with your partners to strengthen your market position?
Mr. Sunil: We have channel schemes like annual trip offered to GIGABYTE premium partners and value partners. This year we brought them to Baku, Azerbaijan, where we had a lovely time. We treat our partners as family, and we enjoy spending time with them. Aside from schemes, we regularly organize system integrator meets to educate the channel about our products, and about our future roadmap. In addition, we are very active in the consumer area, organizing a lot of gaming events, PC enthusiast meets, and educational meets related to productivity and professional use. We often invite our channel partners to join hands and attend these events in order to be closer to the consumer. Thirdly, we continue to strive in making sure that our service remains unmatched in India. With 6 service centers in metros, as well as over 50 collection points all across India, our partners can rest assured that we will take good care of any issue.
DT: What is your overall roadmap to escalate your growth further in CY 2019?
Mr. Sunil: We will be focusing on the higher end PC components with our AORUS brand, which will help us to grow our ASP. In the first part of the year we will continue to focus on recently launched AORUS Z390 motherboards, such as AORUS Z390 Xtreme and Master, two models that are targeted at enthusiasts, and AORUS Z390 Elite, Pro and Ultra, three mid-range motherboards suitable for gamers, that go along well with our new GeForce RTX 20 Series graphics cards, such as the AORUS RTX 2080 Ti, AORUS RTX 2080, and AORUS RTX 2070. All three also come as Xtreme Editions, for those who need the maximum performance. Next to our motherboards and graphics cards, which are still our core focus, we will continue to expand in products such as RGB Memory, SSDs, power supplies, and even cabinets, mice, and keyboards. We are able to offer almost a complete gaming PC solution to our customers right now that is unmatched in quality and performance. We will complete it soon with the availability of gaming monitors. At the same time, we will also focus on the professional channel with our BRIX Mini PC solution that is increasingly popular among various corporate and professional customers.
DT: What are your suggestions/advise to policy makers to counter any existing business challenges in ICT market?
Mr. Sunil: We do not have any particular suggestion for policy makers, we just hope that India will continue to grow, and invest in the infrastructure, and continue to improve the business environment. All these things will help to bring about future growth of the PC market as well, because the PC will be the main driving force for people to create and drive new industries. We see these opportunities in cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad that have become global IT hubs, and we hope the same kind of growth will spill over to other parts of our country. We are hopeful and look positively in the future.
