STK Accessories Directs its focus towards tier II & III cities

Happy about STK’s acceptance in the market, Jay Pau, CEO - STK Accessories tells VARINDIA of how focusing on R&D and without compromising on quality has helped the company stay ahead of its competition, besides giving a brief about the company’s channel and marketing strategies -

What is STK's current focus for the India market? How is its positioning in the domestic market today?

Encouraged by our dramatic success as a leading mobile accessories player in the European markets for over two decades, we are now planning to establish the same league by widening our product range locally and further understanding the needs of the Indian consumers in order to deliver the most innovative mobile accessories in the market place today. We are quite optimistic about our ventures and are expecting a steady growth for our products. We are also happy about the acceptance of our products in the Indian markets, and this has been reflected in revenue and market figures. We shall be focusing between Rs 3000 to Rs 20000 range of smart phones in India. We will be positioning ourselves as a Luxury brand at affordable prices.

 How do you try to be different from your competitors with respect to products and marketing plans?

Our expert R&D Team focuses on ‘quality without compromise’ as we follow a stringent quality control procedure for all our products which has worked the best for the brand. Our precision engineered products scores not just in good looks but also in features which blend perfect as per the needs of the day to day lives. Our easy to use technology products have established a strong foothold in the Indian Markets. Our products meet the consumer needs now, and also are designed keeping the future dynamic industry in mind. One of our keep competitive strategy is ‘Quality’ where STK Accessories indeed makes no compromise! The second in line being pricing – all STK products are priced affordably which could suit the pocket of all the age groups understanding the needs. It’s the perfect mix of ‘Price and Quality’ which keeps the journey going.

 What are your investment plans with regard to Channel expansion, Sales & marketing and market expansion?

We will have a very calculated investment in the channel. We will be recruiting Investment Service Directives for General Trades and LFR partners. Similarly, significant investments on SIS units, Glow sign boards for the GT channel, PR, events, promotions and marketing are imminent. This ensures brand recall and strong brand equity.

We are also partnering with the retailers for all BTL activities in and around their stores. Likewise, although we already have a very strong presence in Social Media, we will invest more on them to strengthen further.

 How have you structured your Channel ecosystem? How many partners do you work with today?

We have worked on 3 Northern Districts covering India. Each ND will operate South, west and central India respectively. They will be responsible to build the channel under them in each States and they will be catering to General Trades and LFRs. However, we are also planning to partner with an exclusive Northern District for Online Channel.

 What kind of a focus do you have in tier 2 and 3 markets?

STK Accessories has already made its presence felt in the metro cities. Now that we have become a known name in metros, we are coming up with new range of products for the tier II and tier III cities.  Accessories are not mere enhancements anymore but have become an important utility today. They protect, improve, make devices look good and add value to everyday use. All these factors keep the markets steady at growth. As they are our best markets, we emphasise more on quality, big specifications and remarkably affordable prices. Ease of usage is another aspect we highlight, since our phones incorporate selections of regional languages too.

Do you also have a presence in e-commerce? What is your strategy for it?

Considering the growing trend of digital shopping, we intend to have a very strong presence in E commerce. In order to ensure avoiding clash with offline trade, we will have absolutely different SKUs for e-commerce.