Rajesh Uttamchandani, director, Syska Group, in an exclusive conversation with EFY Group, shed light on how the brand has been able to grow its market share in India year-on-year. The company, has also started expanding its product portfolio, in several new consumer electronics categories this year.
“Syska is the first brand in the LED category which ensured the spread of additional distribution franchisee-model based exclusive LED lounges which enhances the overall reach of the brand within the country,” noted Rajesh Uttamchandani.
The company aims to grow 25 to 30 per cent every year. Syska informed that it will be expanding its footprint in Tier II and Tier III cities by appointing new retailers and distributors.
“It is very important for the distribution partners to get associated with a brand which ensures better business health basis innovative products. Brand also needs to be committed to establish the “pull” factor for its products by communicating its compelling value propositions in mass media so that there is optimum demand in the market,” added Rajesh Uttamchandani.
Here are some more interesting excerpts from the interaction.
ACE – How are Syska products different from other brands?
RU – At Syska, our aim is to provide the best-in-class products to our customers. Our USP is to offer products and solutions at a competitive price range without compromising on the quality of products across all our product segments including LED lights, personal care appliances, mobile accessories, wires and cables and smart home devices.
Syska has an extremely focused mission: The creation of a sustainable environment by promoting and accelerating the adoption of energy-efficient and environment-friendly lighting solutions. In keeping with this mission, we offer a vast range of specialized greenfield eco-friendly LED lighting solutions.
ACE – Syska grew phenomenally in the last financial! What’s the secret behind this success?
RU – Syska has always believed in being the pioneers of any business and the company has a first-mover advantage that has helped us grow exponentially in the industry. We introduced LED lights in the country when there was very little or no awareness about the benefits of LED lights over traditional lighting systems.
Syska has since then built a strong presence in the country owing to the introduction of LED lights. Eventually, with an in-depth understanding of the market, Syska entered into various other industry segments and has been growing year-on-year in all these segments. Our aim is to provide our ever-evolving customers with innovative products that they would love using.
We have introduced smart products in our LED portfolio which are app and voice controlled, professional series grooming solutions in the personal care appliances category and released innovative mobile accessories such as bluetooth speakers, headphones, earphones, and power banks. Additionally, we have also introduced multi-core cables in our wires and cables segment.
ACE – What are your expectations from this and the next financial? How are you planning to accomplish these?
RU – We will continue to chase and achieve Y-o-Y growth of minimum 25 to 30 per cent by introducing technologically advanced products across different segments at prices which create a strong value proposition for our target customers.
We are rapidly expanding and introducing new and innovative products under all our business segments including LED lighting, personal care appliances, mobile accessories, smart home appliances and wires & cables.
In all of these product segments, we have always been known for our path-breaking innovation. We will continue to introduce innovative products and solutions that will benefit the ever-evolving needs of our customers. We will be launching new products in the switches, MCB and RCB categories in the next financial year.
ACE – How important is the distribution channel for Syska? What is the brand’s overall channel strategy?
RU – As a thought leader brand, Syska recognised the potential in the B2C space for the otherwise B2B facing segment and hence brought the retail revolution in the country. This exceptional feat was achieved by incorporating aggressive marketing programs along with establishing a strong base of more than two lac retailers across the length and breath of the country to make the products available to millions of customers who embraced the fundamental benefit of energy saving by the sustained usage of LED products.
Brand conducts regular meets with its distribution partners to keep them abreast about the technical know-how of the LED products which are used for applications across homes, offices and other categories. Syska is the first brand in the LED category which ensured the spread of additional distribution franchisee-model based exclusive LED lounges which enhances the overall reach of the brand within the country.
ACE – Which channel are you currently focusing on – Omni, Offline or Online? Why?
RU – We have an omnichannel presence with a strong presence across retailers, wholesalers, distributors and dealers across the country. With more than 600 products, Syska is India’s leading LED brand which stands strong in the domestic market in less than four years.
With more than 40 patent products and 20 international joint ventures, the phenomenal growth of Syska can be attributed to the dynamism of the core team members of the company. We also have established a strong presence on leading e-commerce platforms. Our aim is to make our products easily accessible to our customers.
ACE – How do you approach the market in terms of consumer education and marketing? Does the company also help its channel partners in reaching out to consumers via marketing and consumer education campaigns?
RU – We operate with three to four per cent as marketing budgets which are optimally used to achieve the functional objectives across different segments like LED, personal care appliance, wires and cables, mobile accessories etc. We have brand ambassadors for our various product segments to create a distinct recall for each segment. Our brand ambassadors include Irrfan Khan for our LED lighting segment, Amitabh Bachchan for our wires and cables business, and Sushant Singh Rajput for personal care appliances.
As a thought leader brand, Syska is known to address the fundamental need of educating customers about the very benefit of LED adoption. To achieve this, Syska pioneered the concept of exclusive LED lounges which are used not only for sales but also for education reasons for the prospective customers.
It is important to impart the holistic experience of the product category so that the ultimate user is able to draw the larger picture of the brand and its vision. Over the years, our brand has consciously communicated the core thought of “saving” using different expressions through different marketing mediums.
We use a strategic mix of TV, OOH, digital etc. to create the desired equity and convey the proposition for both offline and online customers. It is only because of these sustained marketing efforts that we have successfully brought about a retail revolution in an otherwise institutional category.
ACE – What are the locations that you are strongest in India? Which regions are you focusing on next?
RU – Being a PAN India brand, Syska has a strong presence in the entire country when it comes to the availability of its LED products. As a part of the distribution strategy to keep on increasing the penetration, the brand is ensuring to increase the brand footprint even more in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets so that the distribution network becomes intensive as well.
ACE – Any message for the distributors, retailers, and dealers looking to tie up with Syska India?
RU – It is very important for the distribution partners to get associated with a brand which ensures better business health basis innovative products. Brand also needs to be committed to establish the “pull” factor for its products by communicating its compelling value propositions in mass media so that there is optimum demand in the market.
Syska brand is the only brand within the LED category which has established a strong recall within the customers for its products which belongs to a huge portfolio of more than 600 SKUs across homes, offices and industrial applications. Our after-sales service support across the country only adds to the confidence of retailers in partnering with us through a highly trained sales force.
