“We aim to gain better mindshare from the channels”

How
bullish are you about India given the demographics and size of this
market?

Edimax has
officially been launched in India for over 3 years now and we have
felt the dynamism of the market during this period, especially the
growth rate of over 200% in the first half of this FY as compared to
last. The market size is very encouraging for us to look at a long
term growth pattern and make a mark for ourselves in the Indian
market with more investment and resource inputs.

Could you
articulate your strategies for the Indian market?

Indian market
is slightly different from the other markets where Edimax is present
and therefore we have a very different approach when we plan our
strategies. To handle the diverse cultural and business nature of
different parts of India, we have appointed Neoteric Infomatique as
our ND and with its pan India presence we have been able to identify
dedicated channel partners for our development and growth.As for the
products, we benchmark ourselves along with tier-1brands with better
and diversified range. Besides, we have service warranties which make
our growth and acceptability better and consistent. Edimax is also
looking to invest more intomanpower to penetrate deeper into the
Indian market and gain better mind share from the channels.

Barely 3
years old in India, do you think you are a late entrant? How well are
you positioned vis-à-vis with the likes of Cisco and Juniper
Networks?

Late entry
into the Indian market is not by choice but as a late entrant we got
a lot of opportunities
to learn from the early birds. Cisco and Juniper Networks are not our
competitors
because we tackle and approach different segment of the networking
market. The market environment keeps changing, and with our strong
product planning team and quick TAT in launching new range of
products, we do not feel the heat as a late entrant. To share an eg,
Edimax is the first company to launch the 3G routers which until now
very few tier-1 brands have done. I think it is the technology backed
company which will enjoy the market acceptability in the long run.
However, we still have a lot to learn and show more commitment in
the Indian market in the years to come.

Could you
throw some light on your channel ecosystem in India in terms of
number of partners? Is there any particular distribution model for
the Indian market?

The Indian IT
channel is very organized and diversified at the same time. With
Neoteric as our core partner it has been a smooth journey for us to
identify the regional partners and currently we have a solid base of
50 'elite partners' and around250 resellers who are consistently
promoting Edimax's vast range of products. The distribution model
is particularly designed based on the channel's strength and
knowledge of partners in each region. We have resellers, retailers
and SI model in every part of the country who take interest in
promoting products of their own interests and we support them
accordingly.

How do
you
ensure that your partners are well taken care of in your journey to
success?

As an Edimax
partner, we ensure that they are updated about the latest
developments of Edimax as a brand and how they can benefit in long
term by associating with a committed vendor. We also ensure the
competitiveness of our products and generate acceptability through
promotions and media campaigns. We have been able to grow in our
product range which eventually turns into profitability for the
partners. Our channel policies will be more flexible and business
friendly for the channel so each partner's needs are taken care of.