“We lay stress on the expansion of our channel network”–Mohit Anand

How has been Belkin's journey in India so far?
Since its inception in early 2009, Belkin India has come a long way in terms of establishing itself as a leader across its wide range of products. Also, Belkin leads the wireless space when it comes to homes and small offices. With a market share of 70%, Belkin dominates the LFR space in India. At present, we sell about one surge every 1 minute 20 seconds. By the end of next year, we hope to sell 2 surges every minute.
The company registered a robust growth of 62% in 2011 over 2010 and announced growth target of 60% in 2012. Belkin India recorded revenue of `150 crore in the year 2011 as compared to `95 crore in 2010 in the Indian sub-continent. Belkin India aims to target sales of `250 crore in the year starting from October 2011 to September 2012.

Being a customer-driven company, how is Belkin different from its competitors?
We aim at providing solutions that our customers can benefit from at home, in office and on the go. Belkin is a customer driven company and after-sales service a very important aspect of sales. To strengthen the relationship with our customers, service centers managed by Belkin trained support staff offer free, simple and hassle-free service in over 50 support centers across India. Customers can also dial into our toll-free number for any query or technical difficulties and we offer a lifetime warranty on most of our products. To provide better after-sales service to our customers, we have launched a 24x7 technical support helpline in Hindi. The initiative makes us the first IT services company in India to provide this service in local language. We attempt at establishing a relationship with our customers and also ensuring that their expectations are exceeded at all times.

What are the channel strategies that you follow, specially pertaining to the India market?
Belkin has been successful in establishing a strong channel network across India. We are fast expanding our channel network across India and other Saarc nations. We have opted for a hybrid channel infrastructure for accelerated growth. Since, we forayed into the telecom space, we are looking to consolidate and further strengthen our telecom channel. Besides our expertise in the IT and LFR channels, electrical channel is another major area, we are concentrating heavily on. We are currently focusing on strengthening our channel outreach in the tier-2 and -3 markets.

Belkin has come up with a new brand identity. What initiated the need for a change?
The Belkin brand identity is committed to creating people-inspired products that help all of us stay seamlessly connected to the people, activities, and things we love. With the new brand logotype and logo, Belkin communicates its goal of delivering innovative product solutions that enable people to realize their potential through the application of technology. Belkin's new brand identity was announced at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The new Belkin logo, named PIP for People Inspired Products, symbolizes our commitment to take inspiration from people, and acknowledges the connection between people and the experiences they value most. In a future where connectedness will only increase, our products have one common goal, to ensure that technology exists to serve people, and never the other way around.

What are your focus areas in this financial year?
Belkin has come a long way since its inception in early 2009. We have witnessed massive growth and success in the Indian sub continent. We are currently looking at consolidating our growth and also evaluating new business opportunities. With the recent launch of our products, Belkin is working hard on strengthening its mobility and IT peripheral categories.

What about Belkin's focus on channels? Any channel-centric activities in the pipeline?
Belkin has been successful in establishing a strong channel network across India. Since we offer a wide range of laptop bags and covers we ultimately aim at strengthening our hold in the luggage channel. Besides our expertise in the IT and LFR channels, electrical channel is another major area we are concentrating heavily on. We lay a lot of stress on the expansion of channel network and their development as they form the backbone of our business. It is due to Belkin's robust channel system that we have the current position in the Indian market. Belkin regularly rolls out channel meets and programs to strengthen its relationship with partners. Recently we concluded the Belkin champion's league program and the Belkin Utsav for our partners in tier-3 cities. We also support our partners with POP/POS assistance. Partner trainings is an aspect Belkin takes very seriously.

What are your future plans for the India market and globally?
Belkin has witnessed steady growth since its entry into the Indian market. We have grown at 57% since the last year and are expecting a growth of 63% in the coming financial year. Belkin is striving to achieve its target of `250 crore by the end of 2012. We are also targeting a revenue of 100 mn by the end of 2015. We will keep launching more products and try to further strengthen our relationship with our customers.