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TeknoDome is a growing organisation based out of Dubai, that started its journey as a trading company in 2008. Over the past decade, it has grown into an organisation dealing with global brands as distribution partner. Saket Gaurav, Chairman and Managing Director at Teknodome FZE, talks about the launch of a new brand in the UAE.
Excerpts from the interview.
Tell us the story behind Elista.
Elista was brand which came out just before Covid-19 stuck, in the last quarter of 2019. We had so many things in mind before launching. Previously, we had been associated with brands which were already established in the market. This time, we wanted to bring our own brand, because there was value for money and there is always a demand for products loaded with features. Plus, we also wanted to extend the urban class service to ruler class. Being from a distribution background, it is a tough challenge to get into brand building as these are two different things. But if you talk about the people who come from business or economic background, they would never have suggested to start a brand building, because companies in those days were in the process of consolidating the business, they were containing the business. In fact, many business houses were planning to shrink the business. At that point in time, taking a bold step of investing in a new brand, not knowing what is going to happen next month, was a bold step. But we used it to our advantage, we utilised this time to decide the brand logo, product line-up, and used our channel network in India. This is how we started this brand. So, by August 2020 we had a soft launch.
What, according to you, is the USP of Elista? First and foremost, value for money. We want to extend all the features, all the applications in any gadget that we produce, with the aim of making it budget friendly. In India there are two types of consumers, brand conscious, and feature conscious. We are targeting the latter by offering all the features that they find in established brands at much affordable prices. All our products are world-class innovations with no compromise on quality.
What made you choose Dubai to launch Elista?
I started my career from Dubai 20 years ago. It was here that I learnt about IT and the electronics buisness I established this business in Dubai from many established brands and worked in markets like the UAE, Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. So, the channel was ready for us because we have been working for two decades in this market. This is one of the main reasons we are emotionally connected to Dubai as our primary destination for the launch. Secondly, the UAE happens to be the best place to launch a brand as it provides a gateway to Africa, Central Asia and Middle East countries. Dubai itself is a very big and challenging market and if you pass this market and if you are able to operate here, you can achieve success anywhere.
What are your future plans with Elista?
We started with home appliances but in Dubai, we are operating with a small and select line-up such as water dispensers and small appliances. In IT product category, we have a complete range of keyboards, mouse, accessories, earphones, monitors, UPS, cabinets, cabinets with snaps and much more. In entertainment we have a complete line-up of TVs, which is a focus area, and audio products such as speakers, and music systems. In the launch, we have very limited products in home appliances as we will be bringing in more by the second quarter of 2023. But in the TV category, which is the backbone of business with 70 per cent of the revenue contribution, we have a wide range from 32” to 75”.
With the strong distribution network that Teknodome has, how is it going to help grow Elista as a brand?
These channels will help because we have been working since last two decades with them. It is the same network where we are already present, so we need to utilise it and just need to add one more brand to it. Our target is to keep the quality at par with any of the leading or established brands available in the market and simultaneously at the price points we have to be little cheaper to attract the customers. A brand success is defined by bringing products to the counter and then selling it to the consumer. We have achieved the first part, the second part is challenging. We have to be innovative, the product has to be good, and the pricing has to be attractive.
What made you choose Suresh Raina as the brand ambassador for Elista?
Out target audience in India is between the 15-45 age group, which religiously follows cricket. If we talk about cricket, then cricketing icon like Suresh Raina is an obvious choice. The second reason is his persona actually matches with our products, which are innovative technology gadgets that suit his personality.
— ali@khaleejtimes.com
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