Aiming Towards Market Dominance in Netbooks Date:   Wednesday , October 06, 2010 S.Rajendran, Chief Marketing Officer, Acer India How big do you hope will be the Netbook market for Acer in India? In India netbooks holds around 14 percent of the laptop market and this number is expected to grow further by Q4 2010. Industry experts estimate the total netbook sales in India to touch 0.4 million units (about Rs.840 crore) in 2010. Acer, which currently tops the netbook market globally, sees a tremendous potential in India having already shipped 51,286 units in Q1 + Q2 10. Acer has introduced a new range of netbooks with sleek designs, longer battery life and a plethora of OS offerings to suit the requirements of the customers ranging from students to business travellers. We recently launched 3G embedded netbook in India, designed with an inbuilt CDMA/HSPA broadband + modem facility. Acer is the only vendor in the market to launch this technology with an embedded data card facility. This technology will bring a whole new experience to the users, as the performance and connectivity will change the dynamics of the internet experience and enhancing battery life of the product. How has been the laptop market for Acer till now and what is its penetration region wise in this product category? India is fast becoming an upcoming consumer hub for diverse computing products. The well – appointed devices and features in the netbook category will enhance the buying power of the consumers - low pricing, portability and longer battery life will boost the netbook market. We expect the Indian netbook market to be around (4.5 ~ 5 Lakh units – Jan to Dec 2010 as per IDC Q2 2010 forecast) this fiscal year. At present, according to market estimates, Acer holds 24 percent market share in the netbook segment in India (As per IDC reported figures for Q1+ Q2 2010). Worldwide demand for these products is forecast to grow rapidly over the next few years, with demand from a variety of sources, including early adopters, consumer and enterprise PC customers seeking a smaller or secondary notebook PC, as well as new PC customers in emerging markets. We expect the netbook market to settle at approximately 16 percent share of the notebook PC market by 2011. What are the challenges you see in the market? Acer believes that it has a compelling value proposition that is ideal for Web browsing, e-mail, social interactions and reliability. We believe our latest additions on the Netbook front will only strengthen our position in the market further. The pricing decisions of the other laptop vendors acts as a prime catalyst. Acer recently launched its embedded broadband Netbook with a multitude of benefits like longer battery-life, convenience, tighter integration, security and lower Total Cost Ownership. This is a new category pioneered by Acer and this first-to-market initiative would further turbo-charge the growth for Acer Netbook in the Indian market. Give an insight into the competition you face in this market The highly portable netbooks, owing to their cost competitive pricing and easy internet access facility, have witnessed growth drivers among the educational institutions and corporates apart from the ‘digital lifestyle’ oriented consumers in India. Most players expect netbooks to be positioned in India as a companion device for digital content consumption and for running an application or two. Priced around Rs.20,000 for basic sets, this category has proliferated with variants featuring higher screen sizes and gesture sensitive touchpads, available at price bands stretching up to no more than Rs.25,000. What are your future plans? Acer has diversified into two segments - server and smartphones and also is focusing on the LCD monitors and projectors range. We will leverage our growing presence in the server space to boost PC sales.