Mivi strives to take the Indian electronic gadgets industry to the next level by fulfilling the need for high-quality electronic gadgets at affordable prices in the Indian market. During an exclusive interaction with Mobility Magazine, Ms. Midhula Devabhaktuni, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Mivi entails the brand policy and how it aspires to create a difference in the Indian electronics market by introducing high-quality ‘Made in India’ products.
How do you position your brand?
Mivi was created with a mission of making quality electronics affordable. On one of our trips back from the U.S we noticed that if we wanted to purchase any mobile accessories there were only two options. We could either get an International brand that was overpriced in India or an uncertified product with no genuine components. That was how Mivi was born. After 6 years, we continue to have the same mission with one big addition.
Today, Mivi’s mission is to Make superior quality electronics at value pricing in India. Along our journey, we have realised that if we want to give the customer the best, we need to have end to end control on the product. So, in 2020 we started production in India. Mivi is the first brand to set up its own manufacturing unit in India in this category. Today 100% of our products are Made in India.
Focussing on products has been our core value from day one and that is what our consumers love about Mivi. They know that they are buying into quality and buying something that was made in India for the Indian consumer’s unique needs.
What are the strategic points that you boost on for Make in India?
Today, Make in India has become synonymous with assemble in India. Foreign companies setting up shop here are only giving Indians technician jobs. Engineering and management positions are still being held by foreigners (expats) at these facilities.
We wanted to manufacture Mivi’s products in India in 2016 when we were started the brand itself. But there was no talent and expertise in this area as there was not a single company that was producing audio electronics in India. But we never gave up on the dream. Over 6 years, we trained and built great internal teams because of who today we are able to make in India products.
As of date, we have a strong team of 1500+ employees. But we are not just creating employment, we are creating jobs of value. Every single engineer, technician and analyst working at Mivi’s manufacturing unit has been trained at Mivi and today they possess the knowledge on not just how to assemble a product but how to design, develop and manufacture a product end to end. That is our biggest strength.
Our company realises that the Indian consumer’s tastes, needs and preferences are unique. Today the market is flooded with products made in China that are white labelled and sold here. You cannot bring a product curated for the west and force sell it here. It will create a discord between the brand and its consumers. We work with our customers, understand them and create products that appeal to the preference of us Indians.
Mivi stands for the true meaning of the word AatmaNirbhar Bharat and we are proud that we are able to give the customer an exceptional product that is made in India by Indians.
Explain your association with Samantha Ruth Prabhu?
We had come across Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the most organic way possible and interestingly, it was our community of users (we call them ‘Mivians’) that suggested her name to us through an Instagram poll. Mivi is a self-made Indian brand that has defied all odds. We were called crazy many times during our journey when we challenged society’s norms and admired when we proved them wrong and succeeded.
We were looking for a celebrity that resonates with our ethos. Samantha is just that. She is a self-made star that has succeeded beyond all odds. We are very excited to be working with a PAN India celebrity of her stature, who has a sporty and elegant aura that truly resonates with our brand. Samantha is also an ardent supporter of Made in India products and was quite excited with our brand’s philosophy and mission. It has been a wonderful journey working with her till now, and we look forward to launching interesting and interactive campaigns with her!
Tell us about the #HumaraHindustaan campaign
As our nation completed 75 glorious years of independence, we wanted to pay tribute to the homegrown Indian brands that stood strong throughout the years and carved ways for others to get inspired. The idea behind the #HumaraHindustaan campaign was to celebrate the legacy of “Made in India” brands that have guided every Indian household. Be it Amul, Tata, Air India, or Parle-G, these brands took the first step towards making our nation self-sufficient. The global vision these brands have achieved has always inspired us. #HumaraHindustaan was our heartfelt ode to these homegrown brands to thank them for blazing a trail and inspiring other Made-in-India brands to follow their legacy.
Being a homegrown brand ourselves, this campaign was definitely very close to our hearts. We were really delighted to see the captivating response to the series of illustrations we shared on our social media.
Let us know how Mivi Fort S200 soundbars are performing?
When we forayed into the home audio category in April 2022, customers responded incredibly well to it. We were astounded by the positive reception the products had received.
Within 3 months of launch, we captured 18% of the market share and today we are standing close to 25% of Market share. The journey has been beyond expectations. The Mivi Fort S200 is our latest launch in the sound bar category. And we had high hopes for it, luckily the market responded positively which is the fuel for our motivation. We had designed the Fort S200 sound bars to offer our consumers the ideal blend of style and sound with double the power and oomph. We have always thrived to provide cutting-edge technology at an affordable price, and Fort S200 was a testament to our vision. We launched the product during the FlipKart Big Billion Day sale and customers responded incredibly well to it.
What are the future plans? What are the segments you want to foray into?
Lots of exciting things are happening at Mivi. We will soon be entering the wearables category with smart watches. It will be a breakthrough in this space with the smartwatch that we are launching. Our R&D team is working on numerous other categories like gaming, PC accessories, IOT devices etc. We have been getting a lot of interest for TVs and mobile phones as well and our team is all pumped up to disrupt more spaces.
Along with this, offline and international markets will be a focus for us in the next few years. The presence here is going to get stronger, and we are targeting that 20% of our revenues should come from offline next year.
We are also expanding our manufacturing units. We started with 1 line and 70 people in 2020 and today we have 15 lines and 1500 people. We will be doubling our capacity next year. We are also constructing a much bigger manufacturing unit keeping our future requirements in mind. It should open towards the end of 2023 or early 2024.
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