Nu Republic is an Indian lifestyle technology brand founded in 2018 specializing in the Fast-Moving Consumer Electronics space
Fashion apparel has moved beyond clothes to wearable technology. Electronics now don’t define our gadgets, but our personality as well. From being on-the-go to having an engaging sit-in session to work without distractions, products like smartwatches and earbuds accentuate our emotions.
Understanding this next gen of listeners who want their tech to speak for them, Nu Republic emerges as a home-grown, Indian lifestyle technology brand in the fast-moving consumer electronics space.
The company was founded by Ujjwal Sarin in 2018. Ujjwal is a serial entrepreneur with multi-functional experience of over 15 years in Management, Marketing, B2B, D2C and International Sales.
“We’re busy planting Nu Republic’s flag at the crossroads of music, tech and fashion to emerge as a go-to brand for the next-gen”, Sarin tells us.
Launching with audio products, Nu Republic’s first products was the Starboy Wireless Headphone, a runaway success – #1 headphone on Amazon within the first month of launch. By 2019, the brand launched many other products and scaled up its annual revenue to INR 30 crores.
Many of their products have been super hits in the D2C space with stellar reviews of their dynamic, new-age consumers who identify as citizens of Nu Republic.
Some of Nu Republic’s notable products are Starboy and Starboy 3, with over a million products sold till date. The Flash X5 Wireless Neckbands and Starbuds 4 Earbuds claim mass and class appeal as well, with combined sales of 1.5 million+ so far.
The brand also partnered with leading brands like Nikon, HDFC, Accenture and others for their corporate rewards requirements. The brand forayed into offline trade two years after its launch and expanded into mobile accessories segment – growing its product line strength by launching smartwatches and power accessories.
Promoted by NuWorld Retail Private Limited, the brand has now expanded its product portfolio to more than 100 SKUs that spans across smartwatches, Wireless Earbuds, neckbands, headphones, backpacks and power accessories.
The emotion behind developing design-tech
Nu Republic aims to be a global brand that combines quality with design to define optimum utility. Their soul lies in raising the bar higher, even in a fast-paced consumer tech space developing today.
“We develop products in order for them to be the best option at the point of sale. That is why we always take into account keystones of Technology, Design and Emotion. In simple words, Nu Republic aspires to bring in the beat and push boundaries far and wide,” Ujjwal tells us.
Focusing on building a robust multi-channel distribution network spanning retail trade, modern trade and e-commerce, Nu Republic aims to be a global brand that blends emotion with technology in each of its products.
“Why we want to be available offline as well as offline is to leave no stone unturned in delivering world-class quality and design. We understand that our consumers want touch-and-feel as much as the choice of surfing and scrolling online”, Sarin adds.
Leaders Behind the Brand
Prior to founding Nu Republic, Ujjwal has been a key business leader for ZTE and MTS (Sistema) in India. He has been the force behind the growth of Nu Republic in the last four years.
Jitendra Kumar has recently joined Nu Republic as their Chief Operating Officer (COO) to manage the brand’s overall sales, distribution, product planning, channel expansion and corporate sales. He is an experienced sales professional with more than 23 years of experience in companies such as Zebronics, Ubon, Exmart Mobile, Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel. His experience ranges across several industries such as mobile accessories, mobile handsets, DTH, mobile services and power products.
The Road Ahead
The brand is growing leaps and bounds, with fast-paced development keeping in mind market trends and the evolving consumer demand.
Nu Republic set up its design and development office in Hong Kong, and exports to South Asia, South America and Africa as well.
Infrastructure Development Projects
At present a large majority of Nu Republic’s portfolio is manufactured in India through partnerships with various OEM’s. “We aim to shift 100% of product development operations to India by next year, and eventually be a 100% made-in-India brand that competes with the best of the world in the wearables tech and electronics accessory industry.”
They are investing in a tangible supply chain through a new warehouse facility in Delhi and expanding operations to three more locations in the Western and Southern part of India.
Leadership Development.
“A major part of building a company is also building culture and talent that proves to be knights for the economy. We’ve done this by integrating key talent and leadership by calling in industry experts who will hone talent from the best colleges and universities spanning across India”, shares Sarin.
Apart from onboarding Jitendra Saini as COO, the brand has also made some high-profile leadership appointments across all product functions. Sachin Varshney, their CTO brings over fifteen years of seasoned operational prowess in product development for some of the well-known companies in the industry like Panasonic, TCL and Micromax.
Trusting in the power of dynamic execution and young energy, Nu Republic
recently welcomed Gauri Joshi for heading marketing and communications. She brings experience in Journalism and Corporate Communications – having worked with Sirona Hygiene, a D2C FemTech brand and Adfactors PR, India’s largest PR agency. She is an alumna of IIMC New Delhi, known to be the hub of communications talent in India.
Swimming against the recessionary trends and so-called startup winter, the brand plans hire more than 100 people in various functions in 2023 – roping in seasoned professionals and energetic talent to get things rolling at the pace of current.
Amplifying the Brand Story
“In a prosumer space that reacts more than it consumes, we rely on the citizens of Nu Republic to talk about what they like, and what they want us to work on as a D2C brand”, shares Ujjwal. Which is why, brand development channels for Nu Republic revolve around new-age media engagement for the consumers and customers of today. They have vibrant storytelling over Instagram with meaningful collaborations over YouTube as well.
But trust comes from tapping into all channels of marketing and branding, which is why the company is keen on onboarding a brand ambassador who takes their appeal and accountability for providing wow-some product and style, to consumers in India and abroad.
“We believe in traditional marketing and word-of-mouth but are learning new ways to tell our story everyday”, Ujjwal adds.
Interestingly, Ujjwal has headed marketing and e-commerce himself in the past which is why he’s a seasoned storyteller, as well as a hands-on team builder and leader.
Mission 2023
Sensing the consumers’ pulse and designing innovative products to meet their demands, Nu Republic is now poised for major growth advancements in 2023 and beyond. The brand aims to build its foundation, consumer appeal and brand resonance. The company has also revamped its entire product portfolio to meet the dynamic demands of new-age consumers. Therefore, the brand will be launching a slew of products and continue to expand its portfolio to meet the needs of its fans the citizens of Nu Republic.
“The aim is to be a go to brand for the next gen. We are not here to test waters but create resonating waves” Ujjwal signs off.
