Comparing post-COVID period with the previous era shows a paradigm shift in the consumer behaviour for content consumption. Not only has the medium of content consumption shifted from TVs to personal devices, the format of screens has also evolved with projectors becoming a home entertainment device. BenQ dominates the display technology segment in India, and DeviceNext had the opportunity to have an exclusive interaction with Mr. Rajeev Singh, Managing Director, BenQ India & South Asia, who shared his insights on the consumer and market trends, and talked about company’s market approach in India.
Here’s an excerpt from the interaction.
BenQ roadmap for India market for 2023?
2023 promises to be an even more exciting year for BenQ in India after growing by more than 50% during the year 2022.
In our Interactive Flat Panel (IFP) portfolio, we will be introducing Android 11 based IFPs in all size segments and configurations, including our latest Make in India series, RE03N.
For our projector line-up, we will be focusing on SSI (LED and Laser) light source-based models. We will be introducing smart features in more of our projectors in order to make them stand-out and differentiate from other offerings in the market. In the home segment, we are looking at launching many exciting products in portable, large TV replacement (Laser TVs) and 4K installed projectors for home theatre applications specifically in the luxury segment.
We will also be entering into the OLED space under our immersive gaming category of monitors which is sure to capture the attention of both PC as well as console gamers as this product will include the must-have specifications that gamers demand. We will also be launching professional Designer monitors that can be used along with Apple MacBooks as the ideal companion.
What is the current market share in India?
For the projector category, we are the No. 1 DLP projector brand in the country with a market share of 32%. We are the No. 1 brand in the 4K laser TV segment with 49% share and we are also the No. 1 brand in the portable segment with 27%.
In the monitor category, we are among the top 3 brands in large size segment (27 inch and above) with over 15% share of the market.
What according to you is the current trend of content consumption and home entertainment?
The proliferation of cost effective and high-speed internet connectivity has influenced the pattern of content consumption among the Indian consumers. Earlier, content and entertainment were only available if you were to visit a cinema theatre or watch television at home. Now you are able to stream a feature length film on any device. It is possible to have an interruption free live-streaming experience of 4K content now. We have seen that when Jio streamed the FIFA World Cup last year in 4K and they have announced that they will be streaming the IPL in 4K as well. The focus has now moved on from availability of content to the quality of the device that you are using. The consumer has realised the value of consuming content on a device that offers a larger screen and better colours & resolution. We see this trend in the projector category, as consumers demanding large screen projectors is driving high growth in the overall category. BenQ being a leading display solution provider offers many products across our monitor and projector categories that can elevate your home entertainment needs.
Why India is key market for BenQ?
India is the fastest growing market for BenQ worldwide. India business contributes to almost 7% of BenQ’s global business. This coupled along with an annual growth rate of more than 50% makes India probably the most important market for BenQ worldwide.
Government spending on education has increased, especially in the IFP segment, which is leading to huge demand generation from both government and private schools in the K-12 segment, as a result of which we are planning to double our IFP business year on year.
India has also recently surpassed China as the world’s most populous nation and this mostly constitutes a large number of young people with the median age of 28.5 years. Given that a large number of people will be entering into the workforce, this will lead to rising domestic consumption and create economic opportunities.
Tell us about your upcoming products?
In our IFP portfolio, we would be launching the RP03 series which features Android 11 OS, and includes the industry’s first Octacore processor as well as IP5X dust proof protection.
On our projectors lineup, we will be launching high brightness LED projectors with 4000 ANSI Lumens. In the home segment, we will be launching W4000i which will be our flagship 4K home segment projector with 100% DCI-P3 colour coverage, high brightness LED light source with Film Makers mode. Each unit will be factory calibrated and will come with individual calibration report in the box.
As mentioned earlier, we are launching our first OLED monitor in the Mobiuz sub-brand which will be a 48-inch gaming monitor. It will come with HDMI 2.1 making it the perfect companion for next gen gaming consoles. We will also be launching 2 new models in our Designer series of monitors that feature an ergo arm thereby improving your efficiency during work. We are also launching 2 new models in our Home & Office series that include 2K resolution, height adjustability and a coding mode that makes it easier to differentiate between your different lines of code.
