In this candid, three hour chat with Founder & CEO of Nu Republic, Mr. Ujjwal Sarin, Mr. Jitendra Saini, COO and Mr Suprith S, RSM, we dive into the depths of the Nu Republic and learn first-hand from the leaders about what’s next in store for Nu Republic
Q.) You’ve been successfully listed on Blinkit and INCS (Indian Naval Canteen Service). How does it feel?
Ujjwal: It feels great, to be honest. Both Blinkit and INCS represent a large portion of the market that was untapped till now and being listed on both of these fronts could drive our revenue further up which would definitely benefit the company, as a whole.
Q.) Considering the fact that you are growing at a very rapid pace, could you tell us how Nu Republic has cracked the code of this cluttered market?
Jitendra: Since the beginning, we have focused on three things which are a part of our design philosophy – Technology, Emotion and Design.
To put it in simple terms, taking care of ergonomics and attractive design coupled with the kind of bassy and punchy sound loved by Indians is what we have aimed at.
Suprith: We have always aimed to be an aspirational brand for the common folk – something that they can look up to and really feel that they want to get their hands on.
All these things coupled with products at attractive price points is what has helped us to stand-out in this cluttered market. Having said that, we have never aimed to be considered a ‘cheap’ brand but rather a brand that is considered world-class.
Q.) You started off as an online brand, but gradually, you’ve forayed into offline distribution and modern trade as well. What made you take this step?
Jitendra: While the brand grew exponentially online, we also realized that there was a need to focus our efforts offline also. The internet penetration rate of India stands at 49% currently, which means more than half the market is present offline.
Nu Republic, as a brand, aims to be present everywhere when it comes to consumer electronics. Most of our consumer segment is active digitally due to which the bulk of our advertising is online. But sometimes consumers might want to walk into their neighbourhood stores or go to a marketplace and sometimes they’d want to come to our website. Our idea is for the product to be available wherever the consumers want it to be.
A lot of our marketing and merchandising is already visible in the market as we aim to solidify our presence in all offline marketplaces. We have always taken unique lifestyle models in all our marketing campaigns to showcase our brand as aspirational.
Q.) Do you have any ideas of building full-fledged experience stores in India?
Suprith: We would like to build some experience stores offline, but our first priority is to be present at all leading modern trade and electronic stores.
Q.) Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and issues with the global supply chain. You’ve managed to navigate the situation very well, how have you managed to do so?
Jitendra: In times like these, having strong relationships with the right partners tremendously boosts your business. Our partners, both offline and online, recognise the potential of Nu Republic and how much farther it can grow.
I also believe that the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative can really work wonders for us. This is one category where the government’s support can really help us become global icons.
Q.) What are your plans for online expansion?
Suprith: We have restarted operations on Amazon, Flipkart, our own website and several other online retailers. We have done that by listing several of our latest launches on online shopping sites. As several tier-2 and tier-3 cities become increasingly comfortable with Online Shopping, we believe we need to be present for these folks at all times.
So far, our brand is only present in India but we aim to expand internationally as well, next year onwards.
Q.) Are there any particular segments you are focusing on, in particular?
Jitendra: We have observed in the past couple of years, that the smartwatches category is growing Y-O-Y at a rate of 145% and we aim to focus heavily on this segment and make it our second most popular category, after headphones and TWS.
We have already launched two best-in-class smartwatches – Bold 2 and Creed Ultra, which have gone on to become best-sellers in this category.
Creed Ultra, especially, is a combination of style and performance and is highly-valued by both the massy and classy crowd.
We aim to launch 20+ smartwatches by the end of this year to further cement ourselves in this segment.
Q.) Could you also tell us about the platforms where we can see Nu Republic?
Suprith: We follow a strong omni-channel strategy. Our products are available across leading online marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, PayTM, TATA Cliq and more. We are also available in more than 10,000 retail outlets and large-format retail stores such as Sangeetha Mobiles, Aadishwar, Supreme Mobiles, Pai International, SS Mobiles, The Chennai Mobiles, CELEKT Mobiles, Big C, LOT, Happi Mobiles, PhoneWale, Cell Point and a lot more, with over 100+ distributor presence pan India.
Some of our premium partners include Shweta Group, Radiant Distributors and Whatnot
Q.) What is your strategy in the short-term?
Suprith: For the upcoming 3 months, we have a lot of exciting things planned ahead. We are on our way to consolidate 100+ authorized distributors for Nu Republic across India, covering more than 10,000+ retailers in total. Our strategy is to offer good quality products at value-for-money prices and we are pursuing aggressively marketing ourselves in Digital & Print Media.
We aim to maximize our reach on social media and offline stores as well by offering a funky, jazzy never-before-seen style to the Indian Market which will help us in building our brand ahead. We aim to onboard some well-known names in the entertainment Industry as our brand ambassadors which would definitely create a lot of hype and excitement around the brand as well. It is all just a matter of time!
Q.) What do you think are the top three things an Indian consumer looks for in any audio product?
Suprith: I think first, they look for features. For example – if it is a smartwatch, then they look for features such as BT Calling & Music, HD Display, health tracking features such as SpO2 monitoring, heart rate tracker, steps trackers and much more.
Second of all, the Pricing of the product is important. Every product has a certain price range and so, the price has to be decided carefully as it could be the difference between a best-seller and a failure
Last of all, they look at the brand that is backing the product. Today, the market has become so saturated that a lot of brands sell a variant of the same product under different names, hence, the defining characteristic becomes the BRAND that is backing the product
Jitendra: Adding on to Suprith’s point, I think any audio product has to be a good-market fit i.e. it should not be too different or too generic in order to make it’s presence felt in the market.
Q.) Lastly, where do you see yourselves in the next 5 years?
Jitendra: We aim to become the No. 1 wearable brand in India, achieving complete dominance in both online and offline trade. Like I have said many times earlier, we are not here to merely test the waters but create resounding waves!
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