Acer raises India ante

BANGALORE: Acer, the fourth-largest PC vendor globally, is upping its ante in the Indian market and the branding decibel is going to become louder. Having already signed up actor Hrithik Roshan as its brand ambassador, Acer is all set to increase product awareness levels. “We are a six-year-old company in India and need to make an higher impact,” said Acer India MD WS Mukund.

Acer entered the Indian market in September, 1999 and has a manufacturing plant in Pondicherry. Its product range includes desktop PCs, laptops, servers and peripherals.

Acer’s strategy to rope in the Bollywood megastar is not only because of the higher visibility it will get. It is also due to the structure of the Indian PC market which is dominated by the home and SME segments whereby a brand ambassador like Hrithik will connect better.

Mr Mukund said the home and SME segments form around 65-70% of the market share and the ratio is expected to remain like that till 2010. According to IDC, total shipments in the Indian PC market crossed five million units in 2006, a growth of 25% year-on-year. Notebook PC shipment touched nearly one million units.