Grab the beach in China - LENCO's new layout in Asia

There is no doubt that China's consumer electronics market, which is blowing out, has become a battleground. Taking mobile phones as an example, according to data released by Analysys International, the mobile phone shipments in the entire Chinese market in the second quarter have reached 90.39 million units, an increase of 36% compared with the same period last year; among which, smartphone sales were 77.11 million units. The month-on-month increase was 2.4%, and the year-on-year increase was as high as 101.9%. In addition to mobile phones, product categories such as tablet computers, smart terminal peripherals, and audio have also grown rapidly.

The good market prospect not only attracts traditional giants such as Apple, Samsung, Philips, and Sony to further increase their presence in the Chinese market, but also some strong consumer electronics brands in Europe and the United States are also waiting for the opportunity to join the fight. Kill the ranks. On August 27, at the Global Electronic Product Purchasing Fair held by Global Sources in Shenzhen, the Swiss audio brand LENCO launched four new audio products worldwide, announcing its official entry into the Chinese market.

LENCO, as an audio manufacturer with a history of more than 60 years, has a solid market foundation and a good reputation in Europe. According to LENCO CEO Kresimir, LENCO's product line has developed into a diverse range of consumer electronic products such as traditional turntable players, stereos, tablet computers, MP3, sports, and children's electronic products, "We hope to become a smart consumer in 2020. The world's No. 1 brand of electronic products. Specifically, we do not want to surpass the size of brands like Sony and Philips, but want to become the No. 1 brand with high cost performance in the eyes of consumers."

The brand of LENCO The positioning seems to have the meaning of "coinciding with the Chinese market demand". The iteration of consumer electronics products in China is very rapid, and many young consumers are looking for high-quality, low-cost, and brand-name electronic products. But even

well-known brands in the European and American markets, it is not easy to succeed in the Chinese market. Many foreign brands rushed into the Chinese market, but failed due to "acclimatization", unfamiliar with the local market demand, and ignorance of the rules of channel sales. LENCO is quite cautious in this regard, and has done a lot of solid preparations before making a high-profile entry.

Outpost—Shifting the focus of marketing to Asia Pacific

LENCO's most important "preparatory action" is to make a major adjustment to the company's global marketing strategy. "From this year, our global marketing And sales headquarters moved from Europe to Hong Kong.” Kresimir introduced, “Because Asia has become the core hinterland of the global consumer electronics market, manufacturing, supply chain, market, etc. are here. For further growth, we will shift the focus of sales here. ."

In Asia, the huge population base and rapid economic growth have spawned a huge market for consumer electronics, and the continuous deepening of China's urbanization has provided consumer electronics manufacturers with unlimited imagination. Consumer electronics exhibitions held in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and other places every year have become platforms for manufacturers to release new products.

In a 2013 research report on Asia's consumer electronics industry by HSBC economist Frederic Neumann, the technology industry is critical to Asia's economic growth, with about 40% of manufacturing output is tied to the tech electronics industry. Therefore, along with the recovery of local demand in China, it is expected to drive the growth of Asian trade in the future.

Against this background, it is not difficult to understand why LENCO chose to relocate its marketing and sales headquarters to Hong Kong in 2013 and to make the world premiere of its new products at the Global Sources Shenzhen Electronics Fair. In addition to China, LENCO has also entered Australia, New Zealand and other countries in the pan-Asia-Pacific market, which shows its ambition of global layout.

R&D and design are close to the Chinese market

"Going to the place closest to consumers" does not just mean being close to the target market in terms of marketing. In Kresimir's view, product technology and design are equally It needs to be changed for the target consumers. "Although our R&D headquarters is in the Netherlands, we have a technical office in Hong Kong, in order to better connect the R&D and manufacturing links, and to be closer to China, the largest consumer electronics market. As a As a global brand, we need to have a clear understanding of the product demand in each market.”

When asked if he would increase R&D and design strength in China, Kresimir’s answer was yes, “for several years We started deploying people in this area in China before, and we will be more and more in the future. And we are also working with local design studios. We are trying to integrate these design resources.”

Steady and steady channels Strategy

Entering the Chinese market, in addition to strong product strength and huge marketing budget, it is equally important to find the right entry channel. At this point, Kresimir's thinking is very clear. In his opinion, there are two points to success in the new market, one is a good product, and the other is a good partner. At the global launch of the new product, Kresimir not only introduced the company's long history and strong strength, he kept emphasizing that one of the important reasons why LENCO chose to enter China at this time was to find the right partner - Shenzhen Hariton Company.

As a 28-year-old manufacturer of smart terminal peripherals, Hariton has abundant channel resources in China. Brand and product resources of the former, and the latter opening up the former's channel sales network in China. "We didn't want to make mistakes, we didn't want to be too 'arrogant,' so we needed local partners," says Kresimir.

Specifically, LENCO's channel strategy in the Chinese market focuses on B2B channels, with the help of Hariton's channel resources and cooperation with Global Sources to expand distributor partners. At the same time, other channels such as online stores will also be considered. "The important thing is that we need to form our own brand positioning in the Chinese market, that is, to target the middle and high-end consumers in terms of product quality, and at the same time, the price is relatively close to the people." Kresimir talked about Special attention was given to channel construction.

Supply chain riveting Made in China

LENCO has four factories in China. In the context of the rising cost of Chinese manufacturing, does LENCO plan to move the factory away from the mainland? The answer was clear: no. Because in Kresimir's view, China's supply chain capabilities in the field of electronic product manufacturing are irreplaceable, "there are no alternative options. Basically, the supply chains of all major companies in the consumer electronics industry are in China."

Indeed, leading electronics manufacturing OEMs such as Foxconn, Flextronics, and Jabil have taken root in China one after another. There are countless small and medium-sized foundries in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. With the entry of international companies and the rise of local enterprises, mainland China has become the most important region for global electronics manufacturing outsourcing business. "In the field of consumer electronics, other countries do not have this industry tradition, nor the corresponding knowledge reserves, and most importantly, there is no perfect supply chain. Therefore, we will take root in China."

At the end of the interview, Kresimir talked about His deepest impression of China is the "entrepreneurial spirit" and "optimism" of the Chinese people. In his view, this spirit underpins China's continued rapid growth. Perhaps it was these observations that prompted his final decision to enter the Chinese market.