30 Minute Interview

“We want to become one of the top five brands by 2008”

Wu Tengguo MD, South and Southeast Asia Sales, NEC Computers Asia Pacific

Is there a reason for your company making a late entry in India?

We are number one in Japan. As the PC is becoming a commodity, we felt the need to have better economies of scale and hence started to diversify. We have made a late entry but feel that the Indian PC market (desktops and laptops) is huge and we can make a place for NEC. We wish to be one of the top five brands by 2008.

How does NEC see the Indian PC market?

The Indian PC market is still a desktop market. India is the largest and the fastest growing market in the region with its five year CAGR of 23.2 percent. The total Indian PC market is expected to reach 10 million units by 2007. The desktop market is expected to reach 9 million units and the notebook market to reach 7,79,407 units by 2007. India has 44 percent of the total PC shipment in the region in 2004, which is expected to grow to 55.1 percent by 2009.

How do you plan to market your products in the Indian market?

Our plan is to compete with brands. The focus will be on commercial business users. NEC will co-operate with channel partners to achieve operational excellence and customer intimacy. We have appointed Enkay Technologies as our commercial business reseller. We have worked with them in the past and feel that they will be in a better position in providing the pre-sales and post-sales support infrastructure.

Since Enkay also has a rich customer base of 40,000 users for its various services, we think this will allow us to tap the commercial users.

You have a sizeable competition in India. What will NEC’s selling proposition be?

Our competition is on the basis of better technology, innovation, quality and reliability. NEC is seriously into component business. Unlike other competitors who assemble parts from other manufacturers, we are into manufacturing and production. This gives us better playing field in terms of service and product development. Additionally, NEC as a brand name has better globalpresence.

What would be the price range for the products that you have unveiled in India?

The laptops would be in the range of Rs 50,000 to 90,000. Desktops would be in the range of Rs 30,000 to 40,000 and some of the high-end desktop with features like water cooling technology would be about Rs 1,40,000.

What is the roadmap for NEC in India?

We want to be among the top five PC companies in India. By 2008-09 we intend to have 3 percent of the Indian desktop and 6 percent of the notebook market. Along with India, we are also looking at countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Southeast Asian countries. Though the targets might look modest, our aim is to be profitable with our partners.

We will soon be introducing our product line for the consumer market too. This will happen probably next year. We will be reaching commercial users through seminars, direct contacts with Enkay and other one-on-one meets rather than advertisements etc.

—Shivani Shinde