Exclusive: Thomson Audio To Launch Smart Alexa, Google Powered Devices In India

Thomson Audio has launched a slew of earphones and headphones over the last couple of years and the company is planning to launch a whole new range of products post COVID-19 lockdown. Not just that, the brand is also venturing into a new range of products such as smart speakers and more.

I had an opportunity to interact with Ms. Rohini Walia, Chief Revenue Officer Thomson Audio, and here are some of the interesting findings from the interaction about the brand's strategy and future plans.

Did COVID-19 affect Thomson's business in India?

The widespread outbreak of Coronavirus has left businesses around the world counting costs. Sectors and industries in India as well are now grappling to sustain and counter the threatening impact of the pandemic on the overall economy. Fear of the virus spread and the government’s lockdown is also having a devastating impact on all industries including the electronics sector.

We had a bad start of the calendar year 2020 when China was locked down and we weren’t getting the shipments and as soon as the production got stabilized, the demand tanked in India. Zero Sale is hitting us the hardest at the moment and that is leading to a lot of consequential issues in finance & marketing. We cannot do anything about it, but hope for this phase to pass soon without much damage and losses to anyone.

Is Thomson venturing into any new ecosystem?

We set our goals on the short term and long term basis. On a short term basis, we are planning to expand our portfolio in all the three above mentioned categories. On the long term basis, wherein we look at between 9-12 months we will be launching a new category of 'Smart Audio’ devices which will work with Alexa & Google etc.

Thomson Audio has launched both neckband style and truly wireless style earphones. Which one has more traction and what's the feedback from the users?

Both cater to different audiences and are two very different price points. While truly wireless at Rs. 1499 is our entry product in the personal Audio category, BTW10 is our truly wireless product at Rs. 2999. So while revenue-wise both are generating almost equal amount, in terms of quantities Neckband for sure is selling more.

What's the next major thing that is happening in the consumer audio space?

Last 1 year the main focus has been on Truly wireless earphones and it will stay this way for the next year or so. The next move is to have all these in Smart format i.e. with Alexa or Google-enabled for them to be part of the big “Smart Home” ecosystem!

Is Thomson Audio planning to launch high-end headphones with features like ANC?

Absolutely, you will see this happening by end of the this calendar year near Diwali time frame.