Ambrane is soon going to make an entry into the Middle East Markets. It is focusing to be a complete mobile accessory brand in the future
Established with a mere Rs 1 Million (10 Lakh) investment in 2012, Ambrane is now present in more than 5 consumer electronics categories in India. Ashok Rajpal, director, Ambrane India, in an exclusive conversation with Electronics For You Group, shed light on Ambrane’s future plans for the country.
Ashok believes that India can be the next consumer electronics manufacturing hub of the world. He also told EFY that Ambrane will soon make its debut in the Middle East markets.
Here are some more interesting excerpts from the conversation
Ambrane is gaining a lot of momentum in the market? How have you managed such accomplishments in so short time?
Our three pillars of strength – Quality, After Sales Service and Innovation, have helped Ambrane establish its own business model. We have products that are unique in the market. We focus on giving the consumer best possible quality for the given price. The phrase ‘price performance’ plays a key role when we develop Ambrane products.
Even in marketing, we have a very unique approach and we treat all the smaller zones as independent entities rather than treating the whole nation as one. This way we can cater to the local markets more efficiently according to their needs. Apart from this we had entered the markets during the strongest E-commerce pull period, and being the early entrants benefitted the most.
How long have you been operating in India? How’s the journey been, according to you, so far?
The Journey has been exciting in terms of achievements and the milestones achieved. We started Ambrane in 2012 with an investment of Rs 10 Lakhs and now Ambrane has become synonym to power banks in India. Today, Ambrane is one of the largest selling Power Banks on the online channels. We are on our way to replicate the same via our offline distribution.
Our performance in India has been growing year on year, we have been able to capitalize on the newer markets. With right associations, we have also extended our reach to even Tier II and Tier III markets.
What’s the secret behind your success in India? What’s the vision behind Ambrane in India?
The secret has been our products, which have been conceptualised and tailored to Indian customers and their specific needs at the heart. We aim to establish industry benchmarks in terms of quality and price points.
In line with our brand philosophy, we aim to deliver the best in class products at affordable prices. Further, we understand the need of customers and take the feedback directly from them and after analysing the feedback we make changes accordingly.
Which all categories are you present in? Where do you see the major growth happening in next 2 years?
At present we are into 5+ categories which includes Speakers, Headphones/Earphones, Cables, Chargers and power banks as our USP. We offer power banks in the 2500mAh to 30,000mAh+ categories. Growing at 20 per cent year on year basis our major product portfolio includes Power banks, Cable chargers, Earphones and Smart bands.
The focus for future is to be a complete mobile accessory brand. Also, last year we came up with our wireless power banks which are doing well in the market. We would be also focusing more on wireless gadgets which are becoming a trend these days.
In terms of future, we see growth in IOT products, audio and power.
How are Ambrane products different from other consumer electronic brands in India?
The main difference between Ambrane and other consumer electronics brands is very simple. Most of our products are made in India. This enables Ambrane to have a firm grip on quality as well as the pricing.
Ambrane brings latest technology at the most prudent price points. Today we have a wide range of product portfolio, and not just power banks, but other categories as well.
The differentiation for Ambrane also lies in its focus on creating a comprehensive, end-to-end consumer mobility solutions ecosystem which includes manufacturing, supply chain, service delivery, distribution channels both offline and online along with balanced after sales service.
We currently have a complete hold on our supply chain and are involved in component production, in-house manufacturing and design of all our offerings. This allows us to make good on our promise of delivering value-driven, quality products that will create their own benchmarks by marrying affordability with functionality.
Will we see Ambrane making entry into more international markets? Which all countries do you plan to enter soon?
We are planning to engage with global partners and will start our global operations from middle East Asia. We are introducing some world class products in various categories which will help us to build our brand presence outside India as well.
We are actively participating in various International sourcing exhibitions to showcase our product range. Our goal is to kick-start the international shore by the end of 2019.
How is it possible for you to offer products at so economical prices?
The reason behind this is Ambrane’s economies of scale. We also have a good market share in ecommerce. Apart from this, our Offline Market and Corporate Sales also plays an equally important role in contributing to our revenues as we receive bulk orders from there.
We have an effective supply chain management which allows us to decrease the inherent risk when it comes to buying raw materials and selling products.
What’s your take on the new norms for FDI in e-commerce policy? Do you think the move will create a level playing field for all brands, retailers and distributors in India?
This will definitely enable a level-playing field for us, helping leverage the reach of e-commerce. The New FDI norms will restrain the big e-commerce giants from launching their own brand merchandises on their own platform, and thus gaining undue advantages from the same as they are doing right now.
Also, according to the new FDI norms the e-commerce portals who use the buy box fulfilment like Amazon and Flipkart will come to an end.
Do you think India can be the next manufacturing hub of consumer electronics in the world? What are India’s core strengths and weaknesses in this area?
Yes, India can be the next manufacturing hub provided we work diligently on certain areas. Cost effectiveness is one of our biggest strengths. The government has taken initiatives to develop policies on providing easy business opportunities. The China Vs Global Trade War is making the world look at us as an alternative since we highly resemble to their economy.
What we lack as a country is skillful manpower and unavailability of technology and machinery. Lack of space and bureaucracy are also major reasons behind India’s weak position in the world trade scenario.
What Indian regions are you strongest in? Which regions will you be covering under your next expansion phase?
North and South India contribute to the market strongly; over 30 per cent market is valued from these two regions. South India contributes more via online platform while north majorly via offline and corporate sales. We have established a very strong hold in the said areas.
2019 will be more focused on expansion in the East, West and the Central India.
Do you plan to add more retailers, dealers and direct sellers in your network? What’s your strategy for approaching these businesses?
Partners are crucial to the overall success of a business. Their impact on sales, market share, innovation, and even brand recognition can be enormous.
Yes, in sync with our Business Plans we shall strengthen our channel network strongly. To achieve the same, we have launched several partner programs which brings enhanced range of benefits and resources, sharing the rewards of loyalty and success.
How do you compete against other brands operating in India? Do you think the government is doing enough for supporting brands originating in India?
We are a customer-centric brand, our origin and products make us standout in the market. We have an upper hand of being born in India. This fact also gives us an edge of providing quality products at affordable prices in PAN India availability.
We sell our products via Online, Offline, and B2B Corporate sales which currently only handful of brands are doing in the country.
Although there is an ease of doing business in India but the government is not doing enough to support brands originating in India. There is unavailability of proper technology, funds and policies from government.
