Datawind is known for affordable handhelds particularly tablets. The company claims to have good run in the market and believes that the momentum will continue in the coming year as well. DT spoke to Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO – Datawind to understand more.
DT: How did the year 2016 go for Datawind?
A: We have sustained our market leadership consecutively for last 3 quarters as No. 1 Company with respect to the market share in the tablet market. We have launched 9 new products between Jan. and Oct. 2016, which include - 3 smartphones, 4 Netbooks and 2 Tablets at affordable prices. All the products are bundled with free internet browsing for 1 year, through our partnership with Reliance Communications. Recently, we have launched a new smartphone GZ priced at just INR 1499 which is a revolutionary device. Datawind inaugurated a new facility in Hyderabad this year. The facility is fully operational, tablets and smartphones are being manufactured.
DT: What keeps partners and consumers loyal to Datawind?
A: Datawind has achieved global attention by implementing its vision of connecting billions to internet. We believe that technology should help the mankind in every way possible. Following the same ideology, we create strong bonds with our fellow customers and partners to understand their preferences well. The company has always aimed to break the affordability barrier and provide internet access to empower the billions of people globally that is left out of the digital age.
DT: How is Datawind supporting Government of India’s ‘Make-in-India’ program?
A: Make in India program is expected to make India a worldwide manufacturing center and create more employment in India. Datawind has invested more than INR 300 Crore to set up manufacturing facilities in India. We already have two manufacturing units in Amritsar. The first one is for manufacturing ‘touch panels’. At the other manufacturing unit, we are manufacturing our range of smartphones and tablets.
DT: How does the channel help you to reach out to your potential customers? What’s your channel strength?
A: Datawind is first one to start its sale on tvshoppe channel. With our association with Naaptol Datawind is selling mobile technology in the remotest areas of India. TV shoppe was once the cheapest and most accessible medium of purchasing products for this market. Hence our 80% of the sales come from the same. The remaining sales happen online and through association with retailers. Our captive call centres (which handle the in-bound sales from TV commerce) enable us to be sensitive to the needs of the customers in terms of pricing and product design.
DT: What is your current revenue? What is your projection for the year 2017?
A: We are currently on Rs.100 crores revenue each quarter, and have shown some 10 – 12% growth quarter on quarter. We hope to sustain the same in the coming year.
DT: What is your assurance for providing excellent service support to your customer?
A: Datawind has one of its kind customer care division, DATAWIND CARE, which functions 24*7 for the convenience of our customers. We consider performance and reliability as the utmost priority. We have experts who believe in ‘great’ customer services than just good by making sure that the customers are being taken care of.
DT: What’s your roadmap or strategy for the year 2017?
A: Instead of the small niche of high-end tablets and smartphones, our focus will continue to be on affordable devices that can empower the masses of India. Our future specifications will include DataWind sim which will come with unlimited internet browsing for a year in just Rs. 99. We are also coming up with a pre installed browser in all our devices to slash down the internet usage. In education domain moving forward, we intend to roll out more devices and integrated solutions that address the educational segment.
