Eyeing South East Asia, Middle East In Our Expansion Plan, Says Crossbeats' Abhinav Agarwal

While the consumer electronics market in India clocked in a revenue of USD 73 billion in 2024 as it continues to grow, there is a segment in this market that is gradually becoming one of the fastest-growing sub-sectors. 

The Indian wearable market grew 34 per cent in 2023 clocking in 134.2 million sold units. Smartwatch shipments saw a 74 per cent surge (YoY) to 53.2 million units (as per IDC data). This data also tells us that during the Q4 CY23, the average selling price or ASP of overall wearables dropped from USD 25 to USD 21.2 (15.4 per cent). 

BW Businessworld recently interacted with Abhinav Agarwal, Founder of Indian wearable tech company Crossbeats and got to know the business outlook in the coming years along with its plans to expand outside the country and build a holistic tech company. 

The company started its operations in 2015 with the idea of offering consumer tech products. While Crossbeats’ journey started off as an audio brand, fast forward to 2024, with products ranging from audio products to speakers and smartwatches. 

“We plan on expanding globally starting with South East Asia and the Middle East,” said Abhinav Agarwal, Co-founder, Crossbeats when asked about whether the expansion was on the table. We, however, were intrigued about this move as the brand still hasn’t properly conquered the Indian market. “We are confident about the expansion,” stated Agarwal. 

When asked about falling ASPs in consumer tech products especially in wearable tech, Agarwal mentioned that Crossbeats’ ASP is over Rs 3000. He even compared competing brands such as Boat and Boult whose ASPs fall in the Rs 1500 to Rs 2000 bracket. The average selling price of wearable tech in the country, especially smartwatches (as per the latest IDC data), has been falling. ASPs have dropped to USD 20.65 from USD 29.24 a year ago. 

‘Crossbeats’ approach towards capturing the Indian market revolves around four aspects,’ stated Agarwal when being asked about the company’s strategy in this hypercompetitive market. ‘An immersive product portfolio, customer-centric approach, strong partnership with online channels and marketing are areas that Crossbeats will be focussing on in the time to come,’ added Agarwal. 

One of the most drastic changes in the Indian wearable tech space has been in the form of innovation. Be it design, hardware or software. According to data, consumer AI will be the driving force in consumer tech this decade. Abhinav Agarwal seems to agree with this prediction. “Innovation is the only constant,” he added. Not to mention Crossbeats now has TWS products that have Chat-GPT integration in them out of the biox.  

Agarwal emphasised the challenges that consumer tech startups in the country face today. He mentioned that the Indian consumer is extremely price-sensitive. Not only that, factors such as technological advancements, time spent on understanding consumers and maintaining product quality and ingenuity are also equally important. 

Upon being asked about plans to seek funding, Agarwal pointed out that Crossbeats has been a bootstrapped company till now and it has been profitable. “The company is self-sustained and we’re not looking for funds for now,” he added. 

We concluded the conversation by asking about the company’s plans for the future. Agarwal stated that Crossbeats plans to diversify its product portfolio as he elaborated on the tech startup's plans. “Whatever the consumer touches, we want to be present there,” he added.