Personal computer vendor Acer India has commenced exports to Bangladesh with an aim to sell 10,000 units in the first year there, while it is contemplating launching hand-held devices and LCD television in the Indian market to expand its product portfolio.
The firm has started shipping PCs to the neighbouring country and volumes would increase from next month, general manager (sales and marketing, consumer products group), S Rajendran, said.
He said that Acer has appointed Akij and Delta Systems in Bangladesh as business partners who would be responsible both for sales and support. "We are trying to look at starting our retail or channel business in the OND (October-November-December) quarter."
Besides, Acer India has also bid for some large World Bank-aided projects in Bangladesh and is optimistic on that front. "We think we are fairly well placed there," he said.
"Bulk of the consumption of IT hardware in Bangladesh is in large deals, tenders and large enterprises. So, we want to make that take off and then look at channel business."
PC market in Bangladesh is estimated to be 200,000 units, mostly desktops, annually. "We will be happy even if we start with five per cent (10,000 units) marketshare because we are stepping into that country afresh," Rajendran said.
Acer hand-held devices are currently sold in the Indian market for projects and the company is examining whether it would make sense to launch it for retail. Similarly, the firm is looking into if LCD TV that its parent company has launched in developed countries could be launched in this country.
Acer India, meanwhile, is aggressively expanding its retail footprint and is looking at 'B' and 'C' cities for further growth.
Currently, Acer products are retailed from 190 outlets -- 130 Acer points (multi-brand stores) and 60 Acer malls, which are set up in partnership with its channel partners. By the end of the financial year, the company wants to scale it up to 225, taking the strength of Acer malls to 75.
"We are looking at cities like Indore, Nagpur, Siliguri, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Nashik, Coimbatore and Trichy," Rajendran said.
The Consumer Products Group is looking into larger retail footprint, recruitment of larger channel partners and focus on 'B' and 'C' class towns to drive growth.
"In the enterprise space, we are also looking at corporate as a very key segment. . . beyond the traditional strength areas."
"Retail has been one of the growth areas for us. But more broadly, small and medium enterprises, SOHO, home segment. . . .we see a lot of traction happening," he said.
"In the enterprise space, we see a lot of traction in telecom; in e-governance projects, whether it's education, land-records and high court computerisation. . . we see a lot of momentum building up."
Asked if Acer has plans to launch a desktop PC below Rs 10,000, Rajendran said the firm is watching that space very carefully and could come out with a calibrated response if there is merit.
"Today, our conviction is that a person who is buying a PC. . . he needs a system which is more powerful given his applications, usage and so on."
"Probably there are some segments where a sub-Rs 10,000 can do well.For example, e-governance projects where the load may not be very high and size of the projects could come in chunks where between Rs 15,000 PC and a Rs 10,000 PC. Rs 5,000 means you can sell half a PC more, when you are talking about numbers."
"Probably, if we find there is a lot of merit, there could be a calibrated response from us."
Acer, he said in respose to a question, is spending $3 million in the current financial year on brand-building and expanding retail foot print, among others. It's selling 7,000 to 7,500 notebooks a month.
Asked if Acer India is feeling the heat as PC prices are coming down in India, he said while it's a constant challenge, it's nothing new. Acer, he said, is ahead of the technology curve compared to competition whether it's in notebooks, desktops and servers.
"We are able to maintain that thin edge compared to competition," he said.
Acer India clocked a turn-over of Rs 517 crore (Rs 5.17 billion) last year and is looking to double the volume of units, and a 40 per cent growth in value terms for this year. Earlier this month, the firm launched laptops with integrated wireless LAN connectivity, at Rs 29,999 (plus taxes).
