What comes to your mind when you hear
“O Hum Bhi Bana Lenge”
Aman Gupta?
You might have recognized him because of his dialogues. But, how did he build his fortune from the company he is renowned for? boAt Lifestyle
As you know Indians love their music with high quality sound and bass which of course anyone would love. But what was different in India is that many audio companies like JBL, Sony, Philips and many more came with quite heavy price tag. Hence, Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta started the company in 2016 realizing this gap between listeners and their favorite audio devices.
As boAt says, let’s plug into Nirvana
Aman Gupta is a CA who has worked with Citi Bank as Assistant Manager. Thereafter, he joined Harman International in 2012 as Sales Head. Later found Audio industry fascinating and wanted to grow in it.
So with his friend Sameer Mehta hestarted boAt in 2016 by investing their own 30 lakhs of capital. They started by selling iPhone’s charging cable as the original cable were poor in quality.
Their decision of taking eCommerce route through Amazon and Flipkart gave them success for this product as there was no other competitor selling at that lower price.
The company now also started by selling inexpensive earphones and headphones, but it swiftly widened its selection to include sound bars, smart watches, and wireless speakers.
In 2017, The BassHeads 225 earphones, which boAt released as its first item, quickly rose to popularity on Amazon India.
While 2018, Fireside Ventures and other investors contributed $3 million towards boAt’s investment.
In 2020, boAt raised $100 million from a number of investors, including Warburg Pincus, who gave the business a $300 million valuation.
Over the years boAt has also been successful in its marketing efforts, partnering with various celebrities and influencers to promote its products on social media.
What made boAt successful in such short span of time?
Design oriented
boAt’s products stand out from other brands because of their unique and fashionable designs. The company’s design department is continuously striving to produce products that are both aesthetically beautiful and useful.
Low Price
The affordable prices of boAt’s products make them available to a variety of customers. Offering premium goods at competitive costs has been the company’s strategy, and it has helped them develop a loyal following of boAtheads as they call them.
Excellent Distribution network
With its products being sold at more than 5,000 retail locations across India, boAt has established a robust distribution network. Also, in order to sell its items online, the business has still linked itself with well-known e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart.
Quality Products
boAt offers high-quality items that are supported by friendly customer service. The business manufactures its products with high-end components and advanced technology to provide customers the most value for their money.
Brand identity
boAt has made significant investments in creating its brand identity. The target audience for the company’s marketing initiatives is young people, with a focus on music and fashion.
In order to promote its products, boAt has also collaborated with not only celebrities but influencers, cricketers, content creators and designers too.
boAt have been socially popular for hashtags like #whatfloatsyourboat #boatheads #trebelwithboat #levelupwithboat #raisethebar.
They have been collaborating with IPL, Marvel, Sunburn and many other concerts too.
Who owns boAt?
Warburg Pincus owns 36.48% of the company’s shares, which makes up the majority of the boAt holdings. Next in line are Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta who owns 28.26% shares each. With 3.76% of the shares, Fireside Ventures is next and Qualcomm Ventures with 2.6%. Other people own the remaining 0.64% of the boAt’s stock.
Being a D2C model operated business; the company reported revenue of Rs. 2,870.7 crore in FY22 from sales.
Sales from audio devices like earphones, headphones, speakers and soundbars alone contributed whopping revenue of Rs.2,276 crore which was 85.25% higher compared to previous year revenue of Rs.1,228.6 crore. Wearables like smartwatches gave sales of Rs. 515.5 crore which was 840.69% higher than previous year sale of Rs. 54.80 crore.
On the other hand boAt also reported total expense of Rs. 2,787 crore which was 131.83% higher than its previous year.
Conclusion
The impression that boAt has placed on design, marketing, price, and e-commerce has contributed to its success. The business has succeeded in making a space for itself in India’s very competitive consumer electronics sector, and it is likely that this success will continue in the years to come.
