“Expansion in Mind”

“Expansion in Mind”

Acer continues to invest more in user-centric and aesthetically designed products which is its key strength. The company will be expanding its product portfolio into strategic key segments such as ultra-flexible 2-in-1 mobile PCs and full-fledged Notebooks in 2016, says S Rajendran, CMO of Acer India in conversation with DT.

Q) What is your expectation in terms of overall market growth?

A) Rising demand for mobility, acceptance of touch screen based devices by consumers, and growing mobile workforce in India is driving the market for 2-in-1 Laptop-Tablet in India.

India 2-in-1 Laptop-Tablet market is presently at introductory stage where corporate sector holds major share of the market. However, education sector presents tremendous opportunities for the growth of convertible laptops in the Indian market. It is no denying that India Convertible Laptop/ 2-in-1 Laptop-Tablet market have experienced a growing trend over the last few quarters. However, high ownership cost and lack of consumer awareness remains major hindrance in the expected growth of India’s 2-in-1 Laptop-Tablet market.

The PC ecosystem has started to show some results from our efforts to narrow the divide between the PC and mobile devices in terms of both user experience and price points. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done as advances in both hardware and software are expected to benefit an ever wider spectrum of form factors, such as 2-in-1 devices that will further siphon volume from notebooks.

According to ‘India Tablet PC’s Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2016’ India as a PC market has a huge potential. The outlook for the Tablet PC’s market in India seems very promising as the overall consumer spending and acceptance is increasing in the country.

Q) What will be Acer’s go-to-market strategy for India?

A) Much of India’s hinterland has gone through a major transformation, with spending on consumer durables and electronics (mobile phones, laptops and television sets), increasing by leaps and bounds. We are using our traditional IT channels to penetrate these regions and expanding our coverage of such areas with innovative below the line (BTL) activities and will be continuing the same. Realizing the percolation of IT into smaller cities and towns, we have embarked on a consumerization drive in our ‘Go-To-Market’.

Our business is divided into the consumer and commercial business. The revenue split of our transactional and relationship business stands as 60:40. In the commercial business, BFSI has been a key growth segment contributing to a large percent to the revenue generated from relationship business. Within the relationship segment, BFSI has been the fastest growing market for us. Acer will continue to stay focused in this segment and get its entire suite of product offerings (DTs, NBs, Servers, Projectors and TFT displays) arrayed for this vertical. Along with our robust after-sales support network we are confident that we are well equipped to continue participating in this space in a very healthy manner.

Q) What steps have you taken to boost presence and target consumers at levels?

A) Acer has built strong partnerships with all the large format retail stores, with an aim to increase Acer’s brand presence in tier II and III locations; Acer has introduced the Acer outreach program, through Acer Galleries. We have a robust distribution network comprising of Acer Malls and Acer Points, and are planning to expand it even further.

Q) What's Acer’s strategy for PC business in India?

A) Recently, Acer unveiled two internationally acclaimed smartphone models under the Acer Liquid Z Series and a new range of products across categories namely Notebooks, Convertibles, Projectors, Desktop Monitors and 2-in-1s. Acer has also introduced its gaming strategy across multiple form factors. We are going to continue investing more in user-centric and aesthetically designed products which is our key strength. We will be expanding our product portfolio into strategic key segments such as ultra-flexible 2-in-1 mobile PCs and full-fledged Notebooks. Our focus will be in growing our retail presence and make the best of the E-commerce boom which is expected to stabilize over the next few years.

Q) Is Acer working on any government projects?

A) Our e-Governance initiatives of department of police has initiated an interstate project of computerization of the department with a vision to build an improved information infrastructure for enhancing the operational efficiencies at all levels in the departments of police.

As part of an innovative project to help develop The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills in school, we are partnering with the different state government schools to provide laptops for school children.

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