UBON, founded in 2004 in Delhi, is a fast-growing brand that manufactures and provides accessory and consumer electronics products that address the latest needs of the consumers and brings out the latest products with unique features at affordable prices. The product line of UBON includes cables, wireless headphones, earphones, wireless chargers, wired and wireless power banks, TWS speakers, TWS earbuds, sound bars, LED TVs, etc. In an interaction with Mobility magazine, Mandeep Arora, Co-founder, UBON, shares their company’s philosophy, values, policies, mission, and vision.
UBON’s Journey Since Inception
Mandeep Arora comments, “The last 16 years of our eventful and successful journey in the Indian market has given us the right experience and deeper knowledge needed to manufacture and provide value-for-money, innovative products with cutting-edge technology. We see a big gap in the market where people are not getting the accessories they need. We are focusing on bridging that gap. Our brand name UBON is a blend of words U and BON that stand for ‘You’re Born to be Happy.’ Our aim is to bring to the masses top quality and high-class products at affordable prices. Today people love to have entertainment at their homes and home theater segment is booming. For LED TVs, we have four models of 24, 32, 40, 50 inches which are selling very well and we have seen a great surge in demand for our audio products and LED TVs in the last 6 months. Nowadays, we are manufacturing most of our products in India, whereas earlier we were importing from China and Taiwan.”
Driven by advanced R&D and right application of technology, today UBON has over 700 products in their product line including mobile accessories, audio products and LED TVs. UBON strives to provide quality gadgets and mobile accessories to the consumers in every sector, vertical and society.
Forward-Looking Market and Channel Strategy
Talking about their market and channel strategy, “One thing we learnt through experience is that people prefer to try and physically feel the product prior to taking a buying decision. So we are going to open UBON exclusive experience zones in the 10 major cities in India soon, where users can see, feel and experience our audio and video products and we are going to expand the number of our experience zones and the cities where they will be present in the coming year and beyond. Next trend we see is the buying pattern is shifting from offline to online, whereas offline channel still has a major share. In the sphere of channel initiatives, in Nov 2020, we conducted a 2-day channel partner meet at Umrao Hotel in New Delhi during which we also
launched our latest mobile chargers. For us our offline channel is very important and their growth and our growth are closely intertwined. We had a great time interacting with partners, knowing their opinions and understanding the new market trends. The feedback from our partners indicates that for the next one year, TWS speakers, smartwatches and wireless earbuds will see great demand. Demand for wireless products is going to be the next big wave in the coming year. We are looking for a super-stockist who could supply our products the channel partners operating in different geographic segments. At UBON, we aim to reach our products to every corner of the nation. We are one of the few brands in the country that are available pan-India through both offline & online channels with a balanced pricing between the two channels. Apart from this, we are working on ‘minimum profit policy’ so that we can take affordable products to the consumers and offer them the best satisfaction,” adds Mandeep Arora.
UBON aims to bring stylish & fashionable accessories equipped with latest technology to Indian users. Driven by unlimited passion for technology, content and services, and relentless pursuit of innovation, UBON brings new excitement and entertainment in ways that only UBON can. UBON makes continuous efforts to complement and enhance users’ modern-day lifestyles with innovative high-tech gadgets. UBON invests and focuses continuously on R&D to develop value-for-money products that are eye catchy and premium as well.
Special Focus on R&D and Technology
Talking about their approach to R&D and technology, Mandeep Arora comments, “UBON believes in no-compromise policy regarding quality, reliability and technology. We use the latest Japanese technology along with other technologies from different countries to provide the highest quality products. We have rigorous quality checking measures at our factory and corporate office. UBON is the first company in India to launch solar power banks, wireless power banks & wireless charging pads and we aim to remain at the forefront of innovation.”
Vision and Future Plans
The vision of UBON is to become the Numero Uno brand in the Indian market by being unique through continuous improvement driven by creativity, professionalism and innovation aided by the users, engineers and technocrats. UBON continuously strives to take the evolution of mobile accessories to higher levels.
To be successful in the market, besides employing the right technology, price and features, it is also necessary to promote the brand in innovative ways that appeal to the target customers. With regard to brand promotion and appeal, Mandeep Arora shares, “Tiger Shroff, who is known for his rebel style that appeals to the today’s youth, is the brand ambassador for UBON.
Our aim is to provide fashionable and value-for-money products with best-in-class technology that appeal to the your and also to the other segments in the society,” asserts Mandeep Arora.
The Indian economy is set to become USD 5 trillion by 2027 and 10 trillion by 2040, making India the third largest economy in the world, only behind China and US. This is expected to open enormous opportunities for the providers and innovators in different industries in the Indian market. Lifestyle segments sector is expected to grow much faster than the economy in general.
Talking about the future opportunities and how UBON plans to exploit the opportunities, Mr Mandeep Arora elaborates, “We see a lot of business potential in coming years for those who provide right mix of technology, features and price. We are planning to widen our portfolio in the speaker & headphone category by developing voice & Internet enabled speakers and headphones. Our team at UBON audio labs is constantly working & researching the ways to provide the best experience to our consumers. We are planning to increase output in our Indian factory, to match the growing demand from the customers. We are aiming at a big share in the mobile phone accessories industry in India in the coming years. On challenge today is the cost of the imported components for LED displays has increased significantly. However, on the lighter side, the demand for our LED TVs continues to rise. Another thing we noticed is that several of competitors are copying our products. In fact, we are happy with that because it just speaks about the uniqueness and superiority of our products. We will continue to work hard to set new benchmarks for the Indian mobile accessories industry by bringing out new and innovative products, expanding our consumer base and enhancing user experience and be a source of envy to our competitors. In six months down the line, we want to be a leader in audio and display (LED TV) product segments.”