‘Acer to base maiden home appliances subsidiary in India’

Acer Inc, a Taiwanese firm that produces computer hardware and electronics, has identified India as the base for its maiden subsidiary, Acerpure, which the company floated in 2020 for its appliances business.

Acer on Thursday said India, the fifth largest global appliances market, is set to grow exponentially driven by electrification in villages and changing lifestyles. Andrew Hou, President, Pan-Asia Pacific, Acer Inc. told The Hindu, ‘‘We have assessed the appliances market in India and found that it has great scope to grow in scale.”

Acer Inc. CEO Jason Chen had conducted a market reconnaisance five months ago and is already enthused by the firm’s computer sales numbers in India in recent years.

“We are targeting to sell appliances worth $100 million in the next two years globally of which more than 50% are expected from India. $300 million will be our next, not so long-term sales target,” Mr. Hou added. 

He said diversifying into appliances was a conscious decision and part of the company’s global business expansion strategy. Acerpure sells appliances worth more than $30 million in across 20 geographies, excluding India.

The subsidiary will sell a wide range of products from TVs and washing machines, to gaming devices, and personal care products like hair dryers. The flagship product, Acerpure TV, available in 32, 43, 55, and 65 inches, will be manufactured by Noida-based Dixon Technologies, while the rest of the products would be a mix of imports and locally made through partners.

Mr. Hou said all these products will be available in India by the end of June and more are in the pipeline and will hit the market before Diwali this year.

Acerpure is also considering more subsidiaries in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

Commenting on the origin of Acerpure, he further said, air pollution is high in some parts of Taiwan. Acer had won a government tender for air purification projects in over 1000 elementary and middle schools across Taiwan for a period of 2018 to 2020.

‘’Suddenly the pandemic hit the whole world and we started making air purifiers, so we got into this business and set up Acerpure because of Covid. However, we then never thought that was the beginning of us developing a new global business with a wide range of products.’‘ Hou added.