The component market in India is largely dependent on the Chinese market, but with the sluggish Chinese economy and weakening of Indian rupee, the component players like Corsair feel the only potential impact could come if the Chinese Yuan depreciates to a much larger degree.
In an interview with Channel Times M A Mannan
Country Manager, Corsair India spoke about the performance and trends of the component market in India. Excerpts.
CT: What has been the performance of the component market as well as Corsair growth in India ?
Mannan : Corsair’s growth especially in components has been surprisingly incredible. Corsair PSU and cases had phenomenal growth this year. PSU and case have been growing at a rate of 100% QOQ in 2015, which indirectly projects the slow growth of gaming community as well as the demand for the high end systems. Though desktop sale has been stable, it’s good to see components growing in a difficult and price conscious market like India.
CT: Corsair has been promoting SSD in India. Could you tell us how is the SSD market in terms of acceptance and pricing gaining grounds in India
Mannan: SSD as a product line is slowly making its presence felt in the market. With the price drop per GB and with the launch of low end controllers, SSD is slowly replacing HDD. Though it has a long way to go in terms of taking the market share of HDD but nowadays the enthusiasts as well as the gamers and people who follow technology are moving towards SSD. Corsair has a product portfolio to cater to every need of SSD. We have an entry level SSD (LS, LX series) and high end SSD (neutron XT) which is considered the best in the industry.
CT: How promising is gaming industry for Corsair? What are the efforts made by Corsair to grow its base in the gaming industry of India?
Mannan: The gaming industry hasn’t evolved much in India due to its unorganized approach. There has been gaming events and competition but it still in its nascent stage. Corsair is investing in social media to ensure an awareness about the technicalities of its products. We are planning to work on every available platform like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin to interact with end users so as to cater to their needs.
CT: With Chinese market weakening, do you see any significant impact on the components market?
Mannan: We don’t feel it will have any drastic impact on the components market as components is a stable business with a marginal growth YOY. The only potential impact could come if the Chinese Yuan depreciates to a much larger degree. If this happens, we could expect increases in pricing across the board. Currently China is the producer of almost all components world-wide, but they must import raw materials. If the Yuan drops a lot further, the raw materials to manufacture will become more expensive and we could see prices rise.
CT: How is Corsair looking at ‘Make in India and Digital India’ programs for its growth? What is your expectation from the govt?
Mannan: ‘Make in India’ is an excellent initiative by Indian government but there needs to be a clarity on the policies to be implemented to make it successful. For products of Corsair not much can be done in India as most of the parts are manufactured in China and Japan and we end up importing these parts. Unless the government goes for zero duty structure the manufacturing can’t be done in India. We expect the government comes out with clarity on how they are going to support companies who want to start ‘Make in India’.
CT: In terms of your product portfolio, which are the fast growing products in India. Are you looking at innovations like virtual reality and augmented reality?
Mannan: For Corsair, Power Supply and Case are the products which are growing at a rocket speed. We have been consistently innovating on our products like the recently launched RMi series and AXi series which are truly out-of-the-world products.
CT: What are the plans for channel expansions? Could you explain the existing distribution model?
Mannan: We believe in working closing with our distributors and Corsair dedicated partners. Our distribution model has two India distributors Aditya Infotech and Neoteric Infomatique and our dedicated partners across the country are aligned with them.
CT: How is the memory market in India? What are the key trends driving the growth?
Mannan: Memory market has been down for past few years but this month there is a sudden spike in pricing due to some shortage issues. With the launch of new DDR4 entry level motherboards, DDR4 would slowly make its foothold felt in the market taking over from DDR3.