We have witnessed the world making a shift from cable TV to DTH and lately to OTT platforms, thanks to less expensive data plans and quality content. Now, the world is now on the verge of another major shift, and this is from television to smart projectors.
XGIMI, a Chinese projector brand, launched its products in India in March last year. Since then, the company is making heads turn due to its slick design and an array of products on offer. XGIMI India has witnessed tremendous growth over the year as customers have begun replacing their high-end television sets with smart projectors.
In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, Sushil Motwani—the official India representative for XGIMI, spoke about the company's foray into Indian market, the future of smart projectors, the customers' response for their products, and more.
1. XGIMI India is around a year old. How has the growth been in this one year?
We launched XGIMI products in early March last year and immediately on the 21st of March, faced the lockdown. We kept our social media marketing alive during that time, and post the lockdown, as soon as we started the delivery process on Amazon, we saw orders pouring in. From July 20 to August 21, our growth has been absolutely phenomenal. For a new brand entering a new category dominated by big players, we feel that we've done a fantastic job. We have absolutely great testimonials which speak for themselves. We did not expect to sell the number of pieces that we did amid all the challenges posed by the pandemic. I think the journey has been phenomenal and we are really excited about what the future holds for us.
2. What are your plans for 2022?
We now have four models in the portable category, two in the standalone category and we are super excited to enter the Ultra Short Throw projector market in the country. We will be launching 'Elfin' (smart projector in the standalone category) and 'Aura' (in the Ultra Short Throw projector category) products in mid-October for sale, during Diwali.
3. Why is Indian market so important for the XGIMI?
Upon XGIMI's arrival in India, our experience and research led to the conclusion that the premium projector market had five to six key game players. It also showed that there is a gap in consumer awareness regarding the array of other options available to them, but the scope, however, was tremendous. XGIMI aimed at bridging this gap with important information dissemination about the products and revolutionary features it offered.
4. What is the future of portable smart projectors in India?
Well, the smart projector category market is going to explode and make a quantum leap into the future. It's just a matter of time. Anyone who sees these products is fascinated. With the arrival of the new 'Elfin' projector, the market will soon experience a huge shift and a change in the way people watch OTT content.
5. What consumer behavioral change have you seen in customers who like using projectors?
During the past 15 months of XGIMI in India, the customers have been responsive to the idea that a projector can replace a high-end TV. We have even seen instances where the customers have regretted buying an expensive smart TV and having to find a dedicated space for it in their house. There are a lot of customers who want to buy projectors, but because of their experience with traditional projectors, they feel it is a very cumbersome device to operate. However, when the same consumers see and experience XGIMI products, they are blown away and want to choose our products that have plug and play simplicity, and are ready for projection. The behavioral changes are obvious. Buyers want to move towards all-in-one projectors now.
6. What is the USP of XGIMI that makes it stand out from the other projectors in the market?
The number one USP is the in-built Android TV operating system that makes us stand apart from the others. Apart from this, the Intelligent Optical Avoidance System which is there in our Horizon series will also be present in the 'Elfin' and 'Aura' projectors. This feature helps in automatically eliminating any obstruction like switch boards or photo frames that are fixed on the wall of the living room spaces. It will then project a crystal clear and sharp image without any obstruction. This particular feature is not available in any other projector. Along with this, we also have the Intelligent Screen Adaptation. Let's say that you want to project a screen on a 10 feet wide wall, and your projection is going outside the 10ft wall. In conventional projectors one has to physically calibrate the screen to fit the wall in order to make sure it is ready for viewing. However, in XGIMI products, the projector automatically identifies the screen and recalibrates itself, so no human intervention is needed. Such brilliant functionalities give us an edge over the other brands in the market.
7. What has the customers' response been for the new products?
The phenomenal reviews of XGIMI products on the website as well as on Amazon India website speak for themselves. These reviews have helped customers to gain the confidence to trust us. It is the perspective of the consumer that gives us an edge over the other projectors in the market. We had not expected this level of interest, such fantastic growth and so much excitement, this soon. A lot of people are even upgrading from previous XGIMI products to newer ones. When we launched the Horizon Series in India, it was the first time that there was an Early Bird discount for the projectors. To our surprise, we received a huge number of orders with over 40 per cent advance, for a product that cost Rs.1,87,500/. That itself explains the uproarious response that we've been getting. Once the product reached the customer, the response was amplified further and helped us generate even more business via word of mouth. All this is happening while people are still learning about XGIMI in the country!
