By Krishna Barot
In an assertive bid to strengthen its foothold in India’s retail electronics market, Acer aims to launch 500 retail stores nationwide in 2025. The Taiwanese IT hardware brand, which recently overtook Lenovo to cement itself as India’s third-largest PC manufacturer, is simultaneously looking to expand its consumer electronics banner, AcerPure.
This comes in tandem with the brand’s first experiential mega store launch, Acer Plaza, in Ahmedabad. A similar flagship store will be launched in Bengaluru on November 21.
The company, which currently sells air purifiers, circulator fans, water purifiers, and other appliances, has recently been taking steps to capitalize on India’s growing consumer electronics market – which has a projected CAGR of 5.93% for the period 2024-2029, according to Statista.
Addressing the media, Harish Kohli, President & Managing Director (MD) of Acer India, elucidated that the flagship stores will provide a one-of-a-kind consumer experience, offering products in both IT and consumer electronics segments. “What sets us apart from other brands in this sector is our emphasis on providing fresh technology at affordable prices,” he said.
With 325 brand stores operating across the country, Kohli described 2024 as Acer India’s best year, “As of Q3 2024, our market share has grown to 15%, demonstrating significant growth compared to the corresponding year’s Q3 market share of 11.7%. It is our best quarter yet.”
A majority of the company’s sales come from its offline segment, said Kohli. “While approximately 18%-20% of our products are sold online, the rest are offline. Hence, our plans to launch more brand outlets and flagship stores.”
When asked to provide sales projections for AcerPure, Kohli said the consumer electronics foray is still in its “early days” and Acer is focusing on launching its product line “as quickly as possible.” With a base of over 10 million consumers in India, Kohli is confident that the growth in Acer’s IT segment will be mirrored by the consumer electronics segment.
As the company continues diversifying its product portfolio, strengthening its distribution channels and investing heavily in marketing, Kohli expressed confidence that Acer will position itself as the second-largest PC manufacturer in India, come 2025.
