Aiwa India, part of the Japanese consumer electronics maker Aiwa Corporation, is strengthening its footprint in India. Aiwa India Regional Headquarters has been established to manage all aspects of the 70-year legacy Aiwa brand and its products across India and Sri Lanka. The company aims to achieve $1 billion business in India over the next five years.
In an interaction with DeviceNext, Ajay Mehta, MD, Aiwa India Regional Headquarters told how they are strengthening their product portfolio in the consumer electronics and durable products space.
Latest product line and revival of AIWA in the Indian market:
We have returned to the Indian market with the launch of a personal audio range. AIWA has introduced five new products in the audio range and plans to expand to other product categories, including high-fidelity speakers, televisions, and air purifiers. The newly launched range of personal audio devices would be available online through e-commerce major Amazon and offline at 500 stores across Reliance Digital and Jio Stores. The range is priced between Rs 499 and Rs 7,999. Moreover, these devices have been made available at special prices for the Indian consumers purchasing from these platforms – AIWA True Wireless Stereo Earphones. Additionally, AIWA products will have their Japanese legacy of product design and quality, designed, and manufactured by product experts from AIWA Japan.
We are a premium consumer electronics brand with a premium product quality. In terms of the competition strategy, Aiwa will continue to offer value-for-money and high-technology audio and consumer electronic products.
Your product USP and how many SKU’s AIWA is planning to bring this year in India market?
Under the audio category, we have launched some innovative headsets with quad speakers and gold plating for superior audio quality and noise cancellation. The gold-plated jack headsets have been rolled out, as gold has superior conductivity. Right now, we have six SKU’s in the market and are being offered in the ₹499 to ₹7,999 price range, including noise cancellation headphones. Also, we are planning to come up with a premium home audio range next month.
Channel Strategy:
India is a large market, to reach our customers across the country we will be using a mix of online and offline strategy. It will help us in maintaining an optimum balance between both the channels. The majority of Indian consumers still prefer to buy offline as most of the consumers still believe in the touch and feel factor of the products. Additionally, we have a heavy focus towards building a robust retailer network and ensure the same products are also available across on major ecommerce websites such as Amazon at the same price. Thus, our products are positioned across various verticals.
Product roadmap:
Televisions, refrigerators and air conditioners could be contract manufactured in India as part of the first phase. On the design front, Japan, Taiwan, and China dominate in electronics design and research & development (R&D) globally. Aiwa India will continue to rely on Japanese capabilities for design and R&D. As mentioned above, In terms of the competition strategy, Aiwa will continue to offer value-for-money and high-technology audio and consumer electronic products.
How is your after-sales service plan?
We have a replacement policy in our personal audio category as there is no service as the product is small-sized. Customers facing problems with the device need to call customer care and get the service registration number at the center for replacement.
