 "In the smartphone market you cannot make a mark with just one product: Peter Chang")
Indians are aggressive in responding to new technologies. Adoption of a wearable device won't be a problem till the application works seamlessly, Peter Chang tells Sonali Chowdhury
For technology providers, wearable devices are the next big market opportunity. Asus plans to launch ZenWatch, a smartwatch produced in partnership with Google, in India. What would be the key for wearable computing to go mainstream in India?
India has conspicuously grown as one of the key markets in terms of users who are aggressive when it comes to adoption of technology. India has been aggressive in adopting and responding to every new technology and evolution -from tablets to phablets, laptops to hybrids, feature phones to smartphones. Now, as we move towards wearable devices and internet of things, including smartwatches, I believe that the initial reception has been encouraging enough. Even before the launch, we see our existing and prospective customers waiting for the ZenWatch. As far as the adoption is concerned, till the time there is technology to support a device, we believe adoption would not be a problem. The whole application in a wearable device has to work smoothly and have more battery, stand-up time, applications etc. As of now, we have launched the ZenWatch in a few countries including the US, Japan and Taiwan. In view of the massive response received for the Zenfone series, we want to have enough stocks to back the demand for the ZenWatch launch and are targeting the first quarter for its India launch.
Officially, we have discontinued the Eee PC and updated it and moved the netbook into a regular notebook category. The segment has not completely disappeared because there are users who constantly seek an on-the-go companion. In the last two years there has been a boom in tablets and smartphones, resulting in increased internet penetration but pure smartphones are not enough for a complete internet browsing experience. We realised that users need some device to do slide work which cannot be done on a tablet or a smartphone so we believe this is the right time to reinvent the category and come with a new solution for users. So we have introduced the EeeBook X205, which is an affordable 11.6-inch notebook with 12 hours of battery life.
Asus started as a computer hardware maker and went on to pioneer other categories including hybrids, ultrabooks. What does Asus wish to be best known for if you were to narrow down the focus in your product portfolio?
We would like to be known as a complete computing solutions provider because users are diversified and their need for devices keeps changing. We need to be ready to provide solutions for customers at all levels. A product company cannot be satisfied with one product line because demands of users change. We cannot stick to one solution or narrow our focus and lose business. Then, it is always a challenge to keep our focus in all these categories. We are working independently and efficiently on each product line. We will continue to invest equally across product lines - from smartphone, smartwatch to hybrids.
Are you well positioned to serve consumers in the already crowded smartphone market in India?
The Zenfone series, introduced in July last year, has received a tremendous response with sales figure of over 6 lakh in six months. The smartphone segment is huge and you cannot make a mark with just one product. Hence, with our focus to 'empower luxury', we have introduced more than four variants with different price points to ensure our presence in the market. We are also backing this initiative with marketing exercises. By offering great value for money, we want to reach a market share of 5 per cent.
You have a track record as an innovative company. As a brand, however, would you say you are right up there among the top brands in the market? Is there a perception issue with the brand?
We haven't indulged much in marketing and advertising and this may have resulted in substantially less visibility for the brand. We want to deliver what people want and bring in well crafted devices with superior designs. On the basis of the brand promise - in search of the incredible - we've come a long way and wooed a large number of tech enthusiasts.
Of late, we have undertaken special marketing initiatives for our smartphone series and some of the hybrid devices. It is a continuous process and as we grow further, we would become more visible than we are now.
Software companies are in a constant state of reinventing their core products. As soon as one version reaches the market, they start imagining the next. What should be the ideal way to build a new brand under the shadow of a strong mother brand?
A product cannot be launched in days, there's years of hard work, research and testing that goes in before we achieve the state where we believe it is worth bringing out products for existing and prospective customers. For example, before introducing the smartphone series, there were years of testing and changes were made. Irrespective of expected maturity of any segment, innovations are planned in advance. They are experimented with, some are canned and some get us marvellous response. There's a lot of pressure when it comes to adding a sub-category for a mother brand because there's a reputation which has been built over the years and we have to surpass the consumer expectations and deliver something better. You must understand your consumers' needs, market dynamics and be sure about the innovation you are investing in.
THE PRODUCT CHAMP
For technology providers, wearable devices are the next big market opportunity. Asus plans to launch ZenWatch, a smartwatch produced in partnership with Google, in India. What would be the key for wearable computing to go mainstream in India?
India has conspicuously grown as one of the key markets in terms of users who are aggressive when it comes to adoption of technology. India has been aggressive in adopting and responding to every new technology and evolution -from tablets to phablets, laptops to hybrids, feature phones to smartphones. Now, as we move towards wearable devices and internet of things, including smartwatches, I believe that the initial reception has been encouraging enough. Even before the launch, we see our existing and prospective customers waiting for the ZenWatch. As far as the adoption is concerned, till the time there is technology to support a device, we believe adoption would not be a problem. The whole application in a wearable device has to work smoothly and have more battery, stand-up time, applications etc. As of now, we have launched the ZenWatch in a few countries including the US, Japan and Taiwan. In view of the massive response received for the Zenfone series, we want to have enough stocks to back the demand for the ZenWatch launch and are targeting the first quarter for its India launch.
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Asus ended production of the Eee PC series of netbooks in 2012, a category which you pioneered. Now you have launched the EeeBook at a time when netbooks are fading away...
Officially, we have discontinued the Eee PC and updated it and moved the netbook into a regular notebook category. The segment has not completely disappeared because there are users who constantly seek an on-the-go companion. In the last two years there has been a boom in tablets and smartphones, resulting in increased internet penetration but pure smartphones are not enough for a complete internet browsing experience. We realised that users need some device to do slide work which cannot be done on a tablet or a smartphone so we believe this is the right time to reinvent the category and come with a new solution for users. So we have introduced the EeeBook X205, which is an affordable 11.6-inch notebook with 12 hours of battery life.
Asus started as a computer hardware maker and went on to pioneer other categories including hybrids, ultrabooks. What does Asus wish to be best known for if you were to narrow down the focus in your product portfolio?
We would like to be known as a complete computing solutions provider because users are diversified and their need for devices keeps changing. We need to be ready to provide solutions for customers at all levels. A product company cannot be satisfied with one product line because demands of users change. We cannot stick to one solution or narrow our focus and lose business. Then, it is always a challenge to keep our focus in all these categories. We are working independently and efficiently on each product line. We will continue to invest equally across product lines - from smartphone, smartwatch to hybrids.
Are you well positioned to serve consumers in the already crowded smartphone market in India?
The Zenfone series, introduced in July last year, has received a tremendous response with sales figure of over 6 lakh in six months. The smartphone segment is huge and you cannot make a mark with just one product. Hence, with our focus to 'empower luxury', we have introduced more than four variants with different price points to ensure our presence in the market. We are also backing this initiative with marketing exercises. By offering great value for money, we want to reach a market share of 5 per cent.
You have a track record as an innovative company. As a brand, however, would you say you are right up there among the top brands in the market? Is there a perception issue with the brand?
We haven't indulged much in marketing and advertising and this may have resulted in substantially less visibility for the brand. We want to deliver what people want and bring in well crafted devices with superior designs. On the basis of the brand promise - in search of the incredible - we've come a long way and wooed a large number of tech enthusiasts.
Of late, we have undertaken special marketing initiatives for our smartphone series and some of the hybrid devices. It is a continuous process and as we grow further, we would become more visible than we are now.
Software companies are in a constant state of reinventing their core products. As soon as one version reaches the market, they start imagining the next. What should be the ideal way to build a new brand under the shadow of a strong mother brand?
A product cannot be launched in days, there's years of hard work, research and testing that goes in before we achieve the state where we believe it is worth bringing out products for existing and prospective customers. For example, before introducing the smartphone series, there were years of testing and changes were made. Irrespective of expected maturity of any segment, innovations are planned in advance. They are experimented with, some are canned and some get us marvellous response. There's a lot of pressure when it comes to adding a sub-category for a mother brand because there's a reputation which has been built over the years and we have to surpass the consumer expectations and deliver something better. You must understand your consumers' needs, market dynamics and be sure about the innovation you are investing in.
THE PRODUCT CHAMP
- Peter Chang started his journey in Asus as a product manager and worked in various capacities like account sales, market development manager, and regional director. Under his guidance, Asus became a leading company in Turkey in 2012. His experience and knowledge contributed to his rise in Asus
- Chang has done a major in International Business Management from Taiwan University