FOCUS: Innovations-centric M.Video says smart bracelets most dynamic gadget

By Yekaterina Yezhova

MOSCOW, May 30 (PRIME) -- A viral interest in smartwatches, ignited mostly by the launch of the Apple Watch to the cheers of the brand’s fans, has not made sales of smart bracelets in Russia slow down. Wristbands were the most dynamically evolving gadget group and the most popular one in 2015 and in January–March, Maxim Gusev, director of the accessories department at electronics retailer M.Video, told PRIME in an exclusive interview.

“The country’s market of smart bracelets increased 25% on the year to 113 million rubles in January–March 2016. In natural terms, sales expanded 20% to 24,000 units. The share of M.Video in this category was at 30% in money and 25% in natural terms,” Gusev said.

M.Video was one of the pioneers on the domestic market to start selling smart wristbands of Jawbone, which are still the leader by sales in the company’s chain and on the country’s market.

“When we were at the very beginning, many other sellers found the initiative as hopeless. However, we started buying them in thousands, bringing them to regions, and we sold thousands of them,” Gusev said.

“We started all this in 2013 and saw a crazy demand in 2014 with slower growth rates in 2015. On the one hand, the market is becoming saturated; on the other hand, crisis is being felt as well, as a wristband costs 7,500–11,000 rubles, which is rather expensive for some regions where a monthly salary can be of the same amount.”

Many brands are still imported to the country unofficially and are sold via small online stores, and their turnover is also quite negligible. “Our market is still gray and wild in some aspects. Even students can open an online store and sell something bought on Chinese marketplaces,” Gusev said.

The market is waiting for something new and hot: good quality at a moderate price. “We’ve been visiting fairs and exhibitions for the last two years and looking for something new. Everything is much alike: a vertical screen with a vertically-running text, which is not easy to read. We see now no peers to Jawbone, which has become more of a style than of sports,” Gusev said.

“The category of smart wristbands will keep on growing, but the market needs something new. If something pops up with a cool design and at an attractive price that would be just what we want.”

“In search of innovations from European and Asian producers we visit a great deal of exhibitions,” M.Video’s expert said.

“That was the way we bet on the Bluetooth headphones category with brands Akai and Harper. They mean nothing for the Russian market in these categories, but now some of their products are among the top five bestsellers. You will find nowhere else Bluetooth headphones with an appealing design and a low price, say at 1,500 rubles. There are similar ones, but more expensive, or with wires. We were the only one to fetch them here. Now we sell lots and lots of them.”

Innovations in focus

Such a strong interest in smart novelties is not an accident. Unlike its closest rivals, M.Video puts a stress on innovations. A growing number of electronics sellers start offering household wares, including furniture and children’s goods which results in the notion of an electronics retailer becoming blurred.

“Fundamentally, M.Video is the only company of the electronics seller format that deals only with its specifics. Have a look at what is going on with other chains – they sell everything from lawn-mowers to diapers,” Gusev told PRIME.

“We do not follow this way. We focus on innovations. We want to remain professionals in electronics. We are as such in TV sets and washing machines, but we would like people to see us as aces in innovations, novelties as well. We do a great deal of things to achieve it, perhaps sometimes not enough from the point of view of outdoor advertisements and promotion.

M.Video unveiled so-called gadget zones: areas with several tables and counters with smart devices for fitness, “smart homes”, VR glasses and other innovations in 46 out of its 380 stores, scattered across the country.

“We understand that it’s not profitable to open such zones in each our store, and we do it pointwisely: we put one stand in some stores and more in some others. We have 123 innovations zones in total, which cover 61 big cities, including those with more than 1 million citizens,” Gusev said.

VR and gyroscooters

The 2015 year saw the logic of development of virtual reality (VR) glasses accessible to consumers. “We’ve been selling VR glasses for almost two years. We started with Epson models, equipped with their own software and a remote control panel. Then Sony came,” Gusev said.

“A brilliant thing was introduced last year – video 360 – glasses with lenses and a slot for a smartphone. The idea was simple: 65% of people use smartphones, and only applications were needed. They appeared, and not only for gamers. Now people can use such glasses and watch in 3D or video 360 concerts and visit museums in other countries without making a step,” the expert said.

“The Samsung VR glasses, a leader of last year, are already pushed by Chinese makers, whose products work with Apple smartphones, among others.”

Prices will gradually fall with the appearance of new models. “The category of VR glasses has a huge potential,” Gusev said.

Quite unexpectedly, M.Video offered gyroscooters, or hoverboards, which are self-balancing two-wheeled boards. It is a type of portable, rechargeable battery-powered scooter. Sales debuted in early May, and the retailer is happy with demand.

“The U.K. and the U.S. closed their markets for hoverboards after a wave of accidents, caused by poor quality of Chinese models that flooded into the countries via e-stores. We see some of these unbranded products on several e-stores in Russia as well. We cooperate only with proved plants to avoid similar cases. The gyroscooters we offer are equipped with batteries and software from the best Chinese suppliers,” Gusev said.

“It’s quite hard for a customer to find a store with a wide range of innovative products. M.Video tries to create such a place. Even now if a customer does not see something at our stores, they can visit our Web site for more innovations in stock,” Gusev said.

(66.0413 rubles – U.S. $1)

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