 "Smartwatch")
The Indian smartwatch market has not only grown exponentially on the home turf, but also performed exceptionally well at the global level. And the domestic players expect to repeat the feat in 2023, with the expectation to overtake both Chinese and global rivals.
In Q2 2022, India overtook China to become the second-largest smartwatch market globally for the first time, growing 347 per cent (year-on-year), according to Counterpoint Research.
China, which ranked second in Q1, was pushed down to the third place with a 10 per cent (year-on-year) decrease in its shipments.
According to Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, homegrown smartwatch brands will seek to raise their domestic value addition to further increase their overall competitiveness, not just against the Chinese, but global smartwatch brands.
"After catering to value-conscious buyers in the affordable and competitive Indian smartwatch market, the smartwatch brands will aim to increase their market pie by targeting higher price tiers," Ram told IANS.
Indian brands such as Fire-Boltt and Noise took top spots in the global market share in the June quarter (Q2) amid macro uncertainties such as inflation and geopolitical tensions.
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Commenting on the company's growth, Amit Khatri, Co-founder, Noise, told IANS that they have been at the forefront of India's smartwatch market with a 30 per cent share, "also becoming the only homegrown brand to make it to the top 3 smartwatch brands globally".
"We closed FY22 at Rs 850 crore and aim to close FY23 at Rs 2,000 crore. Being one of the first Indian brands to localise the production of smart wearables in India, we are bullish about ramping up our Make in India efforts by bringing 80 per cent of manufacturing to India by year-end," Khatri added.
According to Arnav Kishore, Founder and CEO at Fire-Boltt, 2022 has been the best year for the company so far.
"We witnessed tremendous growth this year and bagged the No. 1 spot in the smartwatch category in two consecutive quarters (Q1 and Q2). We also climbed up in our global rankings and today we are the fourth largest smartwatch brand in the world," Kishore told IANS.
The company will move towards 100 per cent localisation in the next three months, in terms of its India manufacturing plan, he said. At the moment, Fire-Boltt is at 70 per cent localisation.
In Q3 2022, India's market grew 171 per cent (year-on-year) to become the biggest smartwatch market globally, according to Counterpoint.
Noise grew 218 per cent (year-on-year) to regain the top spot in the Indian market, while Fire-Boltt ranked second.
Another homegrown, high-end consumer electronic brand, Boult Audio, also made its mark in the Indian market. Being among the top three audio brands in India, Boult further spread its horizons and ventured into the smartwatch market in 2022.
"It is creating a niche in the smartwatch category too and is establishing itself as a premium brand choice among Indian consumers," said Varun Gupta, Founder and CEO, Boult Audio.
By 2026, Boult endeavours to reach out to more than 100 million customers worldwide.
"As we embark upon 2023, Boult aims to strengthen its market position in the smartwatch category in India," Gupta told IANS.
(Shrey Srivastava can be reached at shrey.s@ians.in)
--IANS
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