How BoAt became one of India's fastest-growing electronic gadgets company

Remember when we used to buy Chinese earphones because they were cheap but after a day of using them, one side of it stopped working? We wished to buy affordable branded homegrown earphones so bad because not everyone had the bucks for it. Something that would be worth every penny and last long.

One such headphone and audio products brand is creating havoc in the Indian audio industry by helping millennials attain Nirvana with their products since its inception. BoAt a Delhi-based brand came into existence in the year 2016 that is focused to bridge the gap between Indians and premium audio products at a minimal price range.

India is currently on the verge of a technological revolution. Technological advancements have resulted in significant changes in both the economy and human behavior. Only a few years ago, no one imagined that technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Automation, and a slew of others would become a reality.

However, the rate at which they are all entering the mainstream and infiltrating our lives is unreal. Isn't it ironic?! In this context, the effects of continually increasing technology are also permeating the audio sector.

Technology and music are becoming more linked than ever before, producing a plethora of countless opportunities for industry professionals as well as a plethora of experiences for today's music-loving consumers.

BoAt comes under both the Indian electronic market and the audio industry. And according to a report by ibef.org, The headset market in India is booming and is projected to grow and become $77 million us dollars by the year 2027, at a CAGR of 4.7 percent, owing to increased consumer usage of wireless headphones.

By 2025, the appliance and consumer electronics sector is predicted to quadruple to Rs. 1.48 lakh crore (US$ 21.18 billion). According to the Retailers Association of India (RAI), sales of consumer electronics and appliances climbed by 23.5 percent in the third quarter of FY21 compared to the same period the previous fiscal year.

The country's electronic hardware output climbed from Rs. 4.43 trillion (US$ 72.38 billion) in FY19 to Rs. 5.47 trillion (US$ 89.38 billion) in FY20. India's demand for electronic devices is estimated to exceed $400 billion by FY24.

The consumer digital economy in India is expected to reach US$ 800 billion by 2030, up from US$ 85-90 billion in CY20, owing to an increase in online purchasing.

Overview:

boAt is a consumer electronics brand based in India that was founded in 2016, sells audio-centric electronic devices such as wireless speakers, earbuds (Airdopes), wired and wireless headphones and earphones, home audio equipment, quality tough cables, and a variety of other technological accessories.

The main goal of the boAt was to give millennials affordable, durable, and, more importantly, 'fashionable' audio goods and accessories.

The inception

It is unusual to find an Indian company among the top worldwide wearable brands. According to an IDC report, boAt is the 5th largest wearable brand across the globe fighting alongside tech giants like Apple Inc, Xiaomi, Samsung, Fitbit. Despite the company's primary concentration on Indian markets, it has benefitted handsomely since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Boat a consumer electronics startup was established in the year 2016 by two bright minds Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta. The company just like any other startup had a humble beginning. It began as a cable producer and marketer but has since expanded its product line.

The company is constantly expanding and reaching out to millions of 'boAtheads' (A term the company uses for all its consumers and brand ambassadors).

boAt features an incredible assortment of earphones, earbuds, headphones, and wireless speakers that stand out owing to the company's quality, affordability, and world-class designs. BoAt, which was founded in 2016, is regarded as India's leading earwear audio brand.

The company provides customers with the opportunity to experience both spirit and energy at the same time. The founders wished to establish a lifestyle brand that would provide attractive audio goods and accessories to millennials.

As of 2020, the company had begun its journey as a cable maker and supplier and had rapidly expanded its categories to serve over 800,000 customers across India. BoAt began as a bootstrapped startup with a capital of roughly Rs 3000000 lacs raised from the founders.

Founders(S)

Aman Gupta is Boat's co-founder and CMO. He earned a bachelor's degree in commerce from Delhi University before joining The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Gupta also earned an MBA in General Management and Marketing as an exchange student at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management before transferring to the Indian School of Business for an MBA in Finance and Strategy.

Aman began his career as an Assistant Manager at Citi before becoming the CEO and Co-Founder of Advanced Telemedia Pvt Ltd. Gupta then worked as a Senior Management Consultant at KPMG before becoming a Sales Director at Harman International. Aman Gupta eventually co-founded boAt with Sameer in 2016. In addition, he co-founded Imagine Marketing India.

Boat's co-founder and CPO is Sameer Mehta. He is currently the Executive Director of Kores. Sameer Mehta began his career at Redwood Interactive, where he also served as the company's owner. Mehta attended St. Xavier School in Mumbai and earned a bachelor's degree in commerce from Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics. Sameer is also a partner in Imagine Marketing Pvt. Ltd.

Together these two great minds combined and mixed their ability, knowledge and experience and cooked BoAt.

Business model and strategy of BoAt

The brand is completely devoted to its customer's needs and wants. The team carefully has designed and strategized its business by reading human behavior. Thus, creating products that are fashionable and affordable for the Indians to enjoy.

boAt focuses on developing a customer-brand relationship in which consumers are treated as members of the Boat family.

Below I have listed how the brand markets itself:

How does BoAt market itself

Marketing plays a very huge role in getting success, and BoAt does an amazing job in its marketing sphere that helps the brand to flourish.

1. Online Platform: We are online all the time be it shopping, studying, or anything we cannot live without the web. The BoAt team followed this pattern and thus, to sell their products, the brand has relied only on the internet. The brand has avoided traditional media such as television and print for marketing purposes. Their campaigns have largely been run on Facebook and other social media platforms.
2. Celebrity and influencer marketing: There is now an online community of boAtheads with more than 80,000 members at present. The brand is fully aware of its target demographic. It offers fashionable and reasonably priced items that appeal to young people. Keeping this in mind, the boAt firm has appointed all of the industry's youthful faces as brand ambassadors. These ambassadors represent two of India's most popular hobbies (and obsessions): Bollywood and cricket. As a result, when celebrities and cricketers represent the brand, it generates a lot of attention. boAt business has just begun developing items with a primary focus on young people. Sports Earphones and Bluetooth Speakers have piqued the interest of fitness-obsessed millennials. As a result, clients select items that complement their workouts, routes, hikes, and overall lifestyle.
3. Customer-Centric: The company's goal is to meet the demands of users and produce goods by attentively observing their needs. The company's first product was an indestructible Apple charging cord and charger. The product was created after the founders recognized the importance of the situation. People have become increasingly interested in sports and fall-proof headphones during the last three years. The boAt firm responded to the requirement by releasing fall-proof headphones. Along with this, it launched new hues for its products.
4. Lifestyle brand: The founders consider boAt to be a lifestyle brand rather than a consumer electronics brand. This strategy was showcased at the 2019 Lakmé Fashion Week in Mumbai. During the occasion, the models wore just boAt items as they went down the runway for one of the designers.

“Our product is excellent and coupled with outstanding marketing, that is what is the secret to our success”.

AMAN GUPTA, CEO & CO-FOUNDER, BOAT

Growth:

boAT's income increased by a factor of two, rising from Rs 704 crore in FY20 to Rs 1,531 crore in FY21. In FY21, boAT's revenue from operations was Rs 1511.7 crore, while its other income was Rs 19.57 crore. During FY21, boAT's EBIDTA was reported to be Rs 127.1 crore.

BoAt products can be found at Croma outlets, as well as on Myntra, Amazon, Jabong, and Flipkart, alongside its official website. The brand has seen immense profit gain in the past 5+ years.

Competitors

Noise: Noise is a wearables company based in Gurugram, India. Noise advertises itself as "Made in India." As of June 2020, Noise is one of the leading firms in the Indian smartwatch market, and it is also one of the top five brands of wireless headphones.

pTron: PTron is a Hyderabad-based Indian electronics company. Palred Electronics Private Limited owns the PTron brand, which sells Bluetooth headsets, portable Bluetooth speakers, wired headsets, chargers and cables, smartwatches, and networking solutions.

Skullcandy: Skullcandy is also a major competitor of Boat. Skullcandy Inc. is a Utah-based American company that manufactures headphones, earphones, hands-free gadgets, audio backpacks, MP3 players, and other goods.

Mivi: Mivi is one of Boat's main competitors. It was created in 2015 and is based in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, India. Mivi is also involved in the electronics industry.

Future plans

boAt believes that the emerging trend of audio sets paired with smartphones could be its next development channel. It has come to the notice that practically all of the major phone manufacturers have ties with audio companies.

Apple, for example, has Beats, Samsung has Harman and JBL, Huawei has Sennheiser, and so on. As a result, the company intends to attract more new customers with tempting packaged deals, saving individuals from having to purchase headphones or earphones separately.

boAt is currently attempting to produce more and more items to fit the ever-increasing need for technology gadgets and bring them to its users at cheap prices while maintaining style. The brand wishes to assist Indians in obtaining all of the high-quality technology equipment they want from the native brand Boat, rather than relying on other international companies.

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