Optoma is a world leader in marketing and sales of projectors, interactive flat panels, LED displays, etc. Below is a transcript from my interaction with Vijay Sharma, Country Head (India), Optoma where he answered questions related to the organization, industry, marketing, and the future ahead.
Prateek: Has there been a shift in consumer demands in the last year due to the pandemic?
Vijay Sharma: The pandemic has brought a significant shift in consumer demand, choices and behavior. As the theatre and multiplexes were closed for a longer time, people started watching movies, sports at home. During this unprecedented time, people are keener to do one-time investment, buying quality products like high-end projectors, televisions, and sound systems to create a permanent theatre set up at home to have full enjoyment. In addition to this, during the lockdown, the growing popularity of OTT platforms has also given a push to the demand for quality projectors in India. This helped Optoma become the top brand in DLP Projectors and the 4K UHD segment in India as per the PMA report.
Prateek: How does Optoma plan to capitalize on the remote working culture?
Vijay Sharma: Consumer behavior has rapidly evolved as the world adjusted to a new normal, where social distancing, work from home, and virtual meetings are the norms. Demand for at-home digital media grew significantly, as habit-formation and ease of access emerge as drivers. OTT platforms and digital media have already been the biggest beneficiaries. 2020 has already magnified the already apparent shift from small screen digital devices and TV viewing to large screens. This is paving the way for innovation and technology solutions wherein consumers are bringing entertainment larger than life-size to their homes, living rooms & bedrooms whether it is movies, events, sports, or shows. Technological advancements in projectors are playing a pivotal role through affordable 4K, long life Laser Engine and high brightness products which now don’t require dark rooms or can work efficiently in ambient light to give users big-screen experiences of 120” & above and synchronize the 4K content with the right display device to provide us with an exhilarating experience.
Prateek: Please tell us more about the latest Optoma projectors.
Vijay Sharma: The new Optoma P1 PRO and P2 both come with advanced features. While P1 PRO elevates its brightness, P2 enhances its color with the new 6-segment color wheel. Both are dedicated to bringing a higher contrast ratio and richer and true-to-life images for the premium home cinema experience. Continuing the design with DuraCore Laser technology and Ultra Short Throw lens, they too deliver up to 120-inch images from inches away. And the built-in Dolby Audio 2.0 soundbar is to complete the all-in-one entertainment for movie and TV watching, media sharing, and gaming.
UHD33 & UHD35+ is a true blood 4K UHD projector that is affordable yet delivers superior picture quality for the home theatres. With 3,600 & 4000 ANSI lumens of brightness and an impressive 1,000,000:1 & 1,200,000:1 contrast ratio respectively, along with HDR10 and HLG (Hybrid-Log Gamma) compatibility, these produces rich, lifelike colors and delivers accurate, sharp, and high-quality images by leveraging its XPR technology & latest 4K UHD Texas Instrument’s DLP Chipset 7541.
Prateek: What will be the company’s strategy to gain more market share in the coming years?
Vijay Sharma: This challenging time has given us the opportunity to focus on the home segment and this is something that has made a difference and increased our share in the overall market. Let me give you an example, due to the pandemic many people have gone back to their home towns and they have all enabled the 4k as well as the UHD content availability at their houses We witnessed a major shift in home segment purchase patterns and that helped us in gaining market share. As a dominant player in the projector and home segment globally, we attained the leadership position in home 4K UHD for Q2, 2021. Optoma is No. 1 DLP Projector brand globally with core strengths in the Home and Pro AV segments. We want to extend the same strengths in the Indian market as well.
Prateek: What is your channel policy in India? What kind of channel expansion are you looking for in the near future?
Vijay Sharma: The priority of the channel is to ensure their sales are viable. We are ensuring the same by making conducive policies. Our channel policies are very clear and unambiguous. This has helped in Optoma taking a position as the leading player in the 4k UHD home segment space
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