DQW EXCLUSIVE: ASUS to make inroads into desktops

After witnessing its share of success in terms of desktop PC sales in Australia, Turkey, Thailand and many other countries, ASUS is all set to enter the PC desktop business in the Indian market. "We will be launching the ASUS' desktop in India by January 2012. The desktop PC segment is expected to grow bigger by the end of this year. And we have so far received very positive feedback from the market and the channel with strong traction from metros and major cities. Hence, we are also queuing up for a share of the Indian consumer's wallet," said Vinay Shetty, country head, component business, ASUS India.

According to Gartner, Indian PC shipments will total 13.2 mn units in 2011, a 24.7% increase from 2010. "In 2013, we are expecting to bag a market share of 5-7% in terms of PC desktops sales in the initial phase. We are expecting to further capture the market and be among the top brands for desktop in India in the future. For this, we have decided to primarily focus on the enterprise and consumer segments. Youth is contributing to the PC adoption in India in a big way," said Shetty.

He also added that ASUS's go-to-market strategy for desktop business in India will be through its IT channels. "For desktop business in India, we have decided to appoint 125 more channel partners and we are also filtering the regions to be focused. We are also in the process of identifying distributors for the desktop distribution," said Shetty. Rashi Peripherals is in talks with ASUS to sign a distribution deal for the vendor's desktop market in India.

Speaking more on ASUS's focus on channel for desktop distribution, Shetty said, "We will also be launching a training and enabling program in the first quarter of the FY12, wherein the partners would be trained about their margin of profits with the sales of ASUS desktop at a reasonable price to the Indian customers. As decided, we would be also conducting a 25-city roadshow in India for our channel partners to take our desktops successfully in the Indian market."