Lava Aims For 20% Market Share In Indian Wearables Market

Lava International aims to capture up to 20 per cent of the Indian wearables industry over the next five years. This lofty aim comes as the company broadens its product offering and adapts its approach in response to previous market downturns in the wearable device space.

Lava's expansion into wearables is consistent with its fundamental competencies in the smartphone business, exploiting synergies in supply chain management, manufacturing, design and R&D. In conversation with Business Standard, Sunil Raina, Executive Director at Lava, said that the company expects to capture 10-15 per cent of the sub-Rs 5,000 wearables market in the next years. This approach is part of a larger strategy to strengthen its position in the wearables market, which had a 10 per cent year-on-year reduction in the second quarter of 2024, falling to 29.5 million units.

The company's strategy includes a large investment in R&D to close innovation gaps and improve product quality. Lava's recent debut of its first smartwatch in April of this year signals the start of its wearables adventure, following the development of audio products over the previous two years. Despite the overall market decrease, Lava sees an opportunity to expand by meeting consumer wants and enhancing product quality.

The company’s competitive advantage is derived from local production capabilities. The company operates a smartphone manufacturing facility with a capacity of 42 million devices, giving it complete control over its value chain. Wearable products are developed using existing infrastructure, with little additional R&D effort.

Lava's commitment to incorporating better quality chipsets and artificial intelligence into future smartwatches along with its focus on improving active noise cancellation for audio devices is likely to improve the consumer experience while addressing existing market quality concerns.