Founded in 1992, Quantum Hitech Merchandising Pvt. Ltd. is a Computer & Gaming Peripherals, Sound systems, Surveillance Solutions brand with a mission to provide products which are Great on design, performance yet so easy on pocket, that every household in the country can afford. Quantum has touched over 150 million users through 20 sales offices, 1000 Distributor, 10,000 resellers and 600+ service centres. In an interaction with DeviceNext, Mr. Arnav Mutneja, Director of Quantum Hi-Tech Merchandising Pvt. Ltd. explained about Quantum’s new product line and Pan India expansion plan.
What are the factors that differentiate Quantum from other audio brands? Please tell us about your unique brand positioning?
Quantum has been a part of the Indian audio, lifestyle accessories and consumer electronics market for more than past three decades. It has been a part of the evolution that has taken place across different segments and has throughout been tailoring products in accordance with the preferences of the Indian consumers. Owing to its strong R&D mechanism and manufacturing tie ups across the country, we at Quantum know what the need and demand is. For instance if you speak with regard to the audio segment, Indian consumers love an impactful bass more than anything, and the same has been identified by keen observation of the consumer behavior and changing preferences. We have always come up with range of products that aid different lifestyle needs of any individual, whether at home or in office. Besides, the company has over the years built a hybrid supply networkand focuses on after-sales service, which has always been a major pain point for all consumers.
Every business faces challenges, have you faced any dark or down phase? How did you overcome it?
The most recent dark or down phase for any business as well as mankind has been the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the induced lockdowns. It disrupted the supply chain, thereby leading to non-availability of semiconductors and exponential five-fold increase in freight for shipping containers. We, however, took the challenge as an opportunity. While we invested in R & D and worked constantly on new semiconductor technologies to maintain consistent supply, we simultaneously entered into strategic tie-ups with superior shipping lines to alleviate both the challenges.
How is your business in 2019-20 during the pandemic period? In the year 2022, how much revenue you are expecting from the audio segment, compared with your current financial standing?
The pandemic definitely dealt a major blow to the complete supply chain, thereby bringing operations to a screeching halt. However, thanks to our existing robust hybrid supply model, including both online and offline, helped us come to terms and leverage different modes of catering to our customers. As a matter of fact, some product segments such as web cams and wireless mouse etc witnessed a significant spike in demand while a few others like audio maintained its steady growth. TWS, however, did succeed in taking a major chunk of the audio pie. We are glad that over the past four or five years, which include the pandemic period, we have been able to maintain a growth rate of nearly 25%. We expect to register nearly 130cr in terms of revenue in 2022-23 across different segments, including audio.
According to the reports, brands like Noise and Boat are grabbing the market so how are you trying to keep up with competitor brands?
A few home grown brands have recently attained remarkable feat, especially in the wearable and specifically in the smartwatch segment in the recent past. However, Quantum has always been a more lifestyle accessories and consumer electronic brand rather than merely an audio brand.Also, as mentioned earlier, we have been in the market for a much longer period than most of the brands in the space. We have advantage in terms of our local manufacturing tie-ups. Instead of joining the cut-throat race, we intend to maintain our quality while ensuring desirable price point, and we would continue to focus on the service and support part as well. While we are committed to the best after-sale service, we further plan to expand our service network.
Customer is a big factor in the D2C ecosystem, what is the strategy that you follow to stay closer to customers across touchpoints? What were the tweaks that you had to bring in considering the pandemic?
We don’t work on the D2C model with the sole intent of driving conversion. We want to cater to a more aware audience who appreciate technology and wants a class leading product
As a D2C brand, how does Quantum leverage technology to overcome supply chain challenges?
Due to our pedigree in research and our technical know-how, we are quick to develop products on newer technologies. This gives us an edge as we can better ensure that there are minimal supply chain disruptions.
What is your future plan for expanding your business? And share your expected revenue for 2022?
In near future, we intend to clock at least Rs 100 crore in revenue for products introduced across different new categories. Also, we plan to diversify our product portfolio, especially in the audio segment. In 2022-23, the expected revenue for Quantum is nearly Rs 130 crore. In addition to it, we would at expanding and strengthening our pan-India presence, for as of now we are strong in northern parts of India but plan to register similar performance across different geographical belts.
