Posted by Mumbai: Taiwan-based consumer electronics brand BenQ expects 25-30% Y-oY growth in India over the next 3 years as it is banking high on the Indian market. However, this expected growth may not match half of the growth it had posted in the last three years (2021-23), according to the company’s top executives.
Growth in India
“For the last three years (2021-23), we have seen significant growth. We expect a similar kind of growth going forward. Though it might not reach 50%, we still expect a growth rate of 25–30% year-on-year over the next three years,” Rajeev Singh, MD – BenQ India and South Asia told TechHerald during an interaction recently.
The Taipei, Taiwan headquarters company, is one of the major technology product suppliers of computer monitors, digital displays, home projectors and interactive flat panels (IFP) globally. Its business operates mainly in B2B (70%) and B2C (30%) segments.
Impact of COVID-19
Like most businesses and companies globally, BenQ’s business suffered a big disruption during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, although the impact was short-term. In 2020, BenQ’s B2B (projector) business was directly hit by COVID-19, which pushed projector sales down 20% compared to the previous year, according to Singh.
However, from 2021 onwards, Singh pointed out that the market grew very well for display products. “After the impact of COVID, mainly the IFP or interactive flat panels for classrooms and conference rooms have seen impressive growth,” he said.
“When COVID hit, all the education institutions shut down. Coaching was the one segment that was still extremely active, as they had to conduct classes in a digital manner. Therefore, we had decent sales for our IFP,” explained Singh.
Business growth post 2021
Interestingly, since 2021, BenQ’s business has grown rapidly, almost 50% Y-o-Y. While the B2B portion has grown almost one and a half times compared to the pre-COVID level, its B2C segment has seen a major growth, almost three to four times compared to 2019. Further, Singh expected BenQ’s B2B business to do at least 50% more this year compared to 2019.
For BenQ, India and China are among the key markets globally and India has already become one of the top three contributors to the Taiwanese brand’s revenue.
India’s contribution to BenQ
“BenQ India has already become one of the top three contributors (worldwide) for BenQ. The growth rate is much higher, even though India is smaller than China as a base, making it exceedingly important from an overall perspective,” Jeffrey Liang, President of BenQ Asia Pacific Corporation told TechHerald during the interaction.
“India’s GDP growth rate has actually, already outpaced China in 2022 and this year as well. I think this is a golden era for India, because irrespective of the B2B or B2C sectors, we see huge growth potential here,” added Liang.
Manufacturing in India
With India’s expanding economy and market, BenQ already started its local manufacturing of interactive flat panels a year ago under the Make-In-India initiative.
“In the first full year, we will be selling about 20,000+ interactive flat panels, which are going to be Made in India,” said Singh. However, the entire portfolio of interactive flat panels is not made in India, but he added that our largest-selling series is the Make in India series.
“We plan to add more new models of IFP to our Make-in-India focus, in the upcoming three to six-month period. We expect that by the next year, we should be able to double our Make-in-India business for IFP,” stated Singh. BenQ has roped in a Gujarat-based local partner for contract manufacturing in India.
Besides IFP, the manufacturing of projector and monitor categories locally is under discussion by the company management. Still, it is yet to take a final call, informed Singh. Local manufacturing and increasing sales in India could factor in the price reduction of products in the coming years.
Competitors
In terms of BenQ’s competition, it varies depending on product category. For instance, in the projector range, it primarily competes with Epson, which specialises in LCD (liquid-crystal display) projectors, while BenQ is known for its DLP (digital light processing) projectors. It is the leading DLP projector brand in India.
“When it comes to monitors, our major competitors are Samsung, LG, Dell and HP — all of which are well-established brands in the monitor industry. In the IFP panel segment, our competition mainly comes from Samsung, LG and ViewSonic. These companies are notable players in this market segment,” observed Singh.
Banking on India
With India becoming one of the key markets in the region, the Taiwanese brand has anticipated substantial revenue growth. “Over the next year, we anticipate a substantial growth of approximately 25 to 30% in our revenue in the Indian market,” stated Singh.
“Notably, our highest growth is expected to stem from the interactive flat panel business. This segment has experienced a significant surge in demand from consumers and is poised to be a major contributor to our revenue increase,” concluded Singh.