Mr. Hitesh Sidhwani, Founder & Director of Neopack (a brand of Hitech Enterprises), which has grown into a mobile accessory brand of an enviable portfolio of 250+ products, talks to Mobility magazine and traces his journey since inception to how they are following ‘Make in India’. Today, Neopack is a leading provider of sleeves, bags & cases for IT & mobile products availableat Apple Stores & Modern Trade across India.
Q. Please brief us about your journey so far?
I completed my MBA in marketing in 2005 and set up Hitech Enterprise right away. Back then I was trading in IT Products & wanted to establish myself as a Distributor. In 2009, I got the opportunity to distribute Denon Consumer line of products in India. This gave me an insight into the Apple Stores& I saw an opportunity to do a range of accessories that compliment the Apple Products. Thus, Neopack was created in the year 2010 with the sole purpose of offering Quality, Functional & Stylish products at an impulse buy price point.Our biggest strength being that we design & distribute products ourselves,eliminating multiple layers before the product reaches the end user.This in turngives a price advantage to our customers. Today, Neopack is the present in over 150 Apple stores along with over 500 large format electronic chain stores like Reliance Digital & Croma across India.
Q. What is your latest portfolio of products and services?
As the Apple portfolio grows we too widened our offering so that our customers get a wide range of variety to choose from.Every Month we add new products which are functional & fashionable that is manufactured with the highest quality standard.Last year we introduced a new category of work from home products like Tabletstands, Laptop Risers & Tables to the Neopack catalog. This helped us cater to our customers with an ideal solution while working remotely. All Neopack products come with a 1 year door step replacement policy which is an industry-leading service policy for the convenience & safety of our customers. You can reach us on 9167006755 via watsapp / Call & our customer care executives will analyse the issue by way of a video call or images to provide an instant solution instead of the customer having to go back to the store for replacement leading to longer turnaround time & inconvenience.
Q. What is your target audience and what changes have you noticed in the consumer behavior over time?
Our target audience are all customers in the age group of 18 to 40 years. We have products within the portfolio that can appeal to a college student & a working professional alike. Since the pandemic we have seen a growing demand for protective accessories as the WFH Culture became the new norm. This also accelerated a trend of buying IT & Mobility accessories online via Amazon, Flipkart & Tata Cliq. Currently, we as a team are taking active measures of creating a special assortment for the online channel to cater to our customers who prefer to purchase online.
Q. What is your take on Make in India.?
Earlier, we were unable to source raw materials to homogenise our products; however, in the last 2 years we have seen a big change in the availability of quality raw materials and workmanship in the local manufacturing units. Today, we are proud to say that 50% of our Bags & Sleeves are Made in India, and we plan to increase our product localizing in the coming years.
Q. Please tell us about your B2B Business.?
We specialize in providing customised solutions to our clients by designing products based on their need to incorporate techdevices in a given environment within the organization ecosystem. Our most challenging work was to design a cover for the Indian Airforce that allows the pilots to use the iPad within the cockpit in a secure&convenient manner. Such exciting work is what drives us to achieve new milestones & think beyond the ordinary.
Q. What are your plans for the next 3 years?
Neopack is focused on designing products that are unique & adaptable to the changing digital lifestyle. We are diversifying our product portfolio to cater to the work from home users as the hybrid working model is the new norm which is here to stay. Our growing team is determined to enter new regions& countries to make Neopack a Global Brand from India.