Founded in California, ViewSonic is a leading global provider of visual solutions with a presence in over 100 cities around the world. As an innovator and visionary, ViewSonic is committed to providing comprehensive hardware and software solutions that includes monitors, projectors, digital signage, ViewBoard interactive displays, and myViewBoard software ecosystem. With over 30 years of expertise in visual displays, ViewSonic has established a strong position for delivering innovative and reliable solutions for education, enterprise, consumer, and professional markets and helping customers. DeviceNext Editor-in- Chief, Jayanta Ghosh interacted with Mr. Muneer Ahmad, Business Head- AV, ViewSonic India about regaining its dominance in DLP market and its latest offerings in projector segment.
Your comments on the latest position achieved by ViewSonic as no. 1 spot in global DLP market.
It is a proud moment for ViewSonic to be recognized as a No.1 globally for Digital Light Processing projectors. At ViewSonic, our core focus lies on developing and innovating products, offering cutting-edge technology and best-in-class features and solutions. In the Indian market, we observed significant growth and increase in the sales of our projectors business and hence, we aim to continue being at the forefront in visual solutions by introducing cutting-edge features, making them a must-have choice for India’s technology sector and ensuring the company’s No. 1 status in the future. Last year in 2020, we gained No. 3 position but with the rigorous effort and hard work of the team, we regained our position and became the leader in the following domain.
We have observed significant growth and we will continue to maintain our position as the fastest-growing brand. ViewSonic today stands tall, reclaiming its position at the top of the ladder in the projector market in India.
Compared to Global market how has India performed in the projector market segment overall.
Though, projectors market was one of the worst-hit segments during the global pandemic, ViewSonic registered decent growth in the overall projector market. As a dominant player in the projector and home segment, we have been among the top 5 brands globally as well as in the Indian market.
Due to nationwide lockdown the home entertainment segment shows an increasing demand, what’s your thought and how ViewSonic products have an edge over others, tell us more about your M and X series projector lineup.
With the pandemic forcing one to stay indoors, people are encouraged to create a ‘Netflix-and-chill’ environment using smart and android based projectors giving easy access to OTT platforms at their homes. Hence, we developed and introduced innovative products in Home Theatre segment such as X Series and M series projectors. X-100-4K+ is one of our flagship products with a stylish design, embedded with built-in smart technologies. Additionally, it comes with an excellent audio-visual quality which doesn’t require external sound system giving an unbeatable home cinema experience.
Similarly, the M series portable projectors such as M1 mini and M1 mini Plus are compact and light-weight and is equipped with a built-in battery which has a power bank compatibility and integrated JBL speakers for a crisp and clear sound. The lamp-free M2 projector is equipped with the 2nd generation LED technology, specially designed for longevity, captivating the viewers with bigger pictures and better sound quality.
Hence, understanding the customer need, we developed and innovated products catering towards our end users.
What is the current market share of ViewSonic in India, and what’s your plan for the next few months?
Currently, our market share is approximately around 10 percent. The COVID-19 pandemic had a catastrophic global impact, notably in India. With the second wave striking the country in the first quarter of the year, the government’s fortification of lockdown in specific areas caused numerous challenges in terms of material availability and delivery. We did, however, manage to stay afloat during these trying times. However, with the introduction of new products in the projector segment, ViewSonic has diversified to less hazardous, eco-friendly and higher lamp life in lamp free projectors, and therefore, created a new pathway for users. Along with this, we will continue to provide innovative products such as our X Series, M series and Lamp free projectors.
Due to lockdown we have seen zero business from the offline channel, do you feel the future is moving more to omni-channel strategy?
The omni-channel strategy has created a future for a more adaptive marketing scenario. The pandemic has created a sense of fear while stepping out, and therefore, the options are limited. Adjusting ourselves with the constant changing of market scenario will help in building our e-commerce channel for our products.
Which are the key segments for ViewSonic for its future growth?
ViewSonic hasn’t constrained itself in a particular sector but has dwelled itself into multiple segments. With the country returning to normalcy and regulations being eased, there has been enormous development in the education sector, creating a necessity for hybrid learning models that combines online and offline learning concurrently. ViewSonic is adopting new ways to use technology and make learning more engaging with integrated solutions of hardware and software such as Interactive Flat Panel Displays, my ViewBoard visual learning platform, ViewBoard Pen Displays and Touch monitors for Online teaching.
Also, the consternation regarding the pandemic has forced people to set up a theatre-like scenario at their comfortable homes and enjoy movies/series than step out. Therefore, the demand and sale for home theater projectors have significantly increased in this new normal.
