Smart TVs are today one of the most vital parts of modern households. Last year, more than eight out of every 10 televisions brought by Indians were Smart TVs. Due to the rapid surge in smart TV demand, OEMs are rapidly increasing smart TV production in the global as well as the Indian market. One such brand is Scape TV.
Scape TV is a dynamic and technology-orientated brand that is exclusively Made in India. They offer a luxury experience with their premium products while being affordable. Their growth in the offline market has been phenomenal considering the fact that the 2020 and 2021 consumer market was affected by lockdown, yet the start-up could achieve amazing growth and even extend to North Indian states.
Giznext has done an exclusive interaction with Scape TV founder, Yadhu Krishnan about what kind of competition he sees in a similar segment, his plans to get more users to grow the platform, and more.
How did you establish yourself in the retail market in such a short span? A brief of your journey so far.
We started our journey in 2020, precisely during the peak of the pandemic. We started in Kerala with a single distributor and instead of online which was easier, we chose an offline market to start with. I could say we deliberately chose those circumstances because we knew if we are able to sail through it, we would be able to emerge as a stronger brand with a strong ground presence and brand recall.
Currently, we are present in 10 states with a very well-connected and supported dealer-distributor-service network.
What hurdles have you overcome while establishing a Made in India Brand for the consumers?
I think the people are specifically looking for made-in-India products nowadays. Given a choice between Indian products and a non-Indian brand, consumers will go for an Indian brand provided they are convinced about the quality and service support. As a new brand, I would definitely agree that creating a brand recall for a start-up is definitely going to be difficult but if we are able to provide the after-sales support with a best-in-the-class product/service customers are definitely going to remember you just like a major brand even without a huge marketing spend.
What’s your strategy and roadmap with the Made In India Television market?
We are not going to expand to all states in a short span of time. We are currently in 10 states and we would be focusing in the next few months on making a very strong offline presence and building a dealer-service network in these states rather than going live in Pan India.
At the same time, we definitely want our smart TV to reach pan India, so the online presence is going to be crucial too.
How do you ensure the quality of your products?
We adhere to the highest quality standards just like any major brand and we select our vendors after multiple processes of quality testing of the components. The fault ratio is less than 2% currently which is a very good number considering the industry standard and we thrive to keep the fault ratio as minimal as possible.
Most of our Smart TVs carry a comprehensive warranty of up to three years. Thanks to the high-quality components.
In an extremely competitive market like India which is already dominated by a number of small and big players, how has Scape TV positioned itself?
I agree that India is an extremely competitive market and it is currently dominated by a few major brands but if you look at the past, we can see a trend that major players can be replaced given how well we place the new product in the market. From the kind of response, we are getting from the market, we can assure you that Scape TV is going to be in the top five choices of consumers by 2024.
Which are the segments you are targeting and whom do you consider your potential buyers?
We are already in the Smart Tv segment and we will be soon launching Premium Speaker and Home Appliances as well. We are concentrating on the customers who look for value for money products but premium in terms of quality and aesthetics.
What are the trends that you foresee will drive the consumer electronics market in the coming years?
Artificial Intelligence is going to play a major role in Consumer Electronics in the coming years. There are wonderful stand-alone innovations in the field of artificial intelligence which we have not yet incorporated into consumer electronics at an affordable price. If manufacturers of consumer electronics are able to do that it is going to be a game-changer for sure.
How does Scape TV compete with its rivals?
It might look like the same thing every brand says if I say it is in terms of quality and the after-sales service because every brand claims so. We would say our customer satisfaction is the main reason for our success. We are delivering and working on a solution that the consumers are looking for. We made sure to go to any possible extreme to make the customer happy with the product and after-sale service.
What is your vision for the next few years to be a go-to brand for millennials in India?
As I mentioned earlier, the proper use of AI can be a deal-breaker for millennials in the consumer segment. As a young company, this is one of the advantages we have which is we can adapt to new changes very easily as we have structured the organization in such a way from the beginning. In the coming years, we will be introducing more and more consumer products with the latest technology which will make Scape a go-to brand for not just the millennials but for everyone.
What are the opportunities you see in the Indian market in regard to Scape TV?
We do have a very huge opportunity in the Indian market. The consumer segment especially the Smart TV segment is one that grows exponentially year after year and even having a mere 5% in the coming year would make a huge difference for the brand. The non-smart TV segment is slowly going away and that, in turn, is going to be a huge boost for the Smart TV segment ultimately.
