Adapting to India
Published: ASIA
Harman Professional is making huge strides into India. Caroline Moss visits
the new Bangalore office, dedicated to sales and marketing, application engineering and service.
In the words of David McKinney, who became senior director of Harman Professional India in February 2012, ‘To get the real experience about India, you have to be here. Trust me, I’ve learned more in the last few months than in the several years I was making short trips to the country.’
Harman has certainly arrived in India since establishing a base in Bangalore almost three years ago for all of its divisions. The initial plan was to open a software engineering centre, with Bangalore chosen for its resources, but it soon became clear the company would greatly benefit from building up a country-wide infrastructure for its brands. In May 2010 a team of around 20 was recruited to handle service, design, sales and marketing. One of the first to be employed was Ankush Agarwal, director of marketing and business development, who brings to the table vast industry experience.
‘This new team allowed us to have a bigger presence across India, building on the infrastructure for future business,’ says Mr McKinney, who at the time was senior director of sales at Harman Professional’s Asia Regional sales office in Kuala Lumpur.
‘When we opened the service centre in India, we received multiple customer enquiries, so the first year was pretty much about designing and offering a solution-based approach to servicing. The second year was about growing the company, bringing it up to a professional level, reducing turnaround times and quickening our response rates.’
Today Harman India employs close to 400 people at its Bangalore headquarters as well as its operations for Infotainment in Pune, up from 250 just six months ago, and this rapid growth is expected to continue. A team of 30 handles sales and distribution for the professional division, while over 50 people in the professional engineering team look after software products across all the Professional brands. There are regional sales teams in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, and one planned for Kolkata. To bolster the service team in Bangalore, a new service centre has opened in Mumbai, with others soon to follow in Delhi and Kolkata, providing four regional points for product service.
On July 1st it was announced that Harman Professional would assume distribution of all its products throughout India. The new structure has changed to having a Master dealer in both the North and East quadrants with dealers appointed in every state across India. ‘Dealer channels are set up geographically, and we try to make sure we’re represented in each state with at least one partner, sometimes more depending on size or geographical spread, to make sure our products are successful in all regions,’ says David McKinney.
In another significant move to expand the sales team, a seasoned industry professional, Prashant Govindan was appointed as director of sales in June 2012. ‘Prashant’s experience in the A/V industry and his go-to-market strategy to drive revenue growth will leverage on Harman India’s technologies,’ declares Mr McKinney.
Outlining his plans for sales, Mr Govindan adds: ‘For me the task at hand is as vast and versatile as the Harman Professional product portfolio. We are at an exciting phase. Our dealer segment includes tour sound, install sound, portable PA, cinema and MI. In installed sound channels we have a number of system integration and contracting partners. All these segments hold great potential as we move into a pan-India expansion.’
It’s this speed and determination to cover the vast country that arguably sets Harman apart within India. Companies wishing to gain a strong foothold in the market face challenges such as cross-state taxes, differing VAT rates and diverse languages and cultures. ‘The whole country is developing in different ways, in different vertical markets,’ reasons Mr McKinney. ‘We’re looking at how we can cater to all the markets that our products are aimed at, right across the country. We need people to invest in an infrastructure which is not only going to help us grow, but hopefully will help the whole industry to grow.’
Another challenge facing Indian importers and distributors is the sheer geographic expanse of the country. ‘Bringing everything into one port is much easier to manage and maintain. For Harman, it is Chennai,’ Mr McKinney explains. ‘Additionally we have a spare parts stocks here in Bangalore, and a reverse logistics system is in place for ensuring better after-sales service.’
Harman’s India initiative doesn’t stop with sales, distribution, marketing and service. A team of software engineers is working closely with its global counterparts to develop products for both the global and local markets, working from the India Development Center.
India as a country is as diverse as one can imagine. Just to provide a perspective from Harman’s range, the JBL VerTec series is on the ground in substantial quantities while the recently launched new flagship touring system, the VTX, is equally seen as having significant potential in the market. In Tier 3 cities and below, however, PA rigs are commonly run from car batteries. Developing products to cater to such a diverse market poses a significant challenge for global companies such as Harman.
‘We at Harman India are working on developing solutions for the local market with untapped demands,’ explains Ankush Agarwal. ‘As these products become successful here we will have the opportunity to roll-out to other emerging markets. Here is the scenario that explains the difference in India: Indian consumers like sound very loud, with lots of bass – be it Bollywood music, events and concerts. Having said that, the focus is not just premium or medium range, but to develop and cater to the entry level markets, keeping Harman’s quality standards as a constant.’
Raising the bar is the main key to what Harman wants to achieve on the subcontinent. ‘We’re continuously investing our resources and efforts to create a unique and structured platform for sales and distribution, with service to cater to our key customers,’ says Mr McKinney. ‘To address the customised demands and service levels, we have a focused segment sales strategy and allocated sales resources.’
Harman seems to have all the bases covered in India. The infrastructure it is working so hard to create should be of great value not just to the company, but could set an example for others. Perhaps most importantly, it represents one of the biggest companies in professional audio adapting to a very special market.