American audio electronics company, Altec Lansing has made a comeback to the Indian market with a range of funky and hi-tech speakers. Partnering with an Indian company, Trade Bazaar Hometech Ventures LLP, Altec Lansing boasts of nearly every-calamity proof speakers starting from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 14,000. If you’re a music lover and love to carry your playlist on-the-go, these speakers are just for you.
Terming the series as ‘Everything proof’, Altec Lansing claims that the speakers are dust proof, sand proof, snow proof, shock proof, water proof and everything proof. While in India we might not be very concerned about snow proof, the other proofs do come in handy every once in awhile. It does make sense to launch speakers that can survive almost every kind of abuse by the users in India, since we tend to be a little careless about accessories. These speakers are best for situations like road-trips, weekend adventures and outdoor sports.
The funky-looking speakers are compatible with all devices and can be connected to all devices through Bluetooth. They are also compatible with iOS, Android and Blackberry platforms, so Windows users might have to wait for some time before they’re available for Windows as well. The products initially sold are named Altec Lansing Mini H2O, Altec Lansing Jacket H2O and Altec Lansing LifeJacket 2, to emulate the actual ability of the speaker.
Make in India strategy
Altec Lansing is relaunching its products in India to gain more popularity and market share in a segment which is currently dominated by Indian electronics players like Zebronics and Intex and foreign players like JBL and Philips.
While the initial few months could be tough, the USP of the devices will surely make Altec Lansing a common name in speakers industry. There are not many premium speakers available these days that cater to the lifestyles of the youth, and an ‘Everything-proof’ tagline is bound to make some headlines.
Trade Bazaar Hometech Ventures partner Shonit Dalmia commented, “These products are dustproof, sand proof, shockproof, waterproof and snow proof. In the first year (by March 2017), we expect to get $15-20 million (about Rs 133 crore) in revenues… we are starting with portable speakers and will soon expand our range to include home audio systems and computer speakers.”
The company is planning to manufacture their products locally in India in the near future to support the ‘Make in India’ campaign and take full advantage of it. However, it makes sense to see the sales volumes every month to analyse the demand in India first. This comes as a good news since this will bring down the prices and the company could also think about investing in exporting the products from India.
The speakers are available on Flipkart as of now, but will be launched on other e-tailers subsequently. If you’re an audiophile and are planning to buy a premium speaker which is not easily destroyable, look no further!
