Bangkok--19 Jul--TQPR
Sennheiser Co-CEO Dr. Andreas Sennheiser is making an inaugural visit to Thailand this week as part of a planned regional tour. His trip reflects the German audio specialist's renewed confidence in the Thai market within the Asia Pacific region.
Sennheiser moves into the direct business model
The Sennheiser Group, which is managed by Daniel Sennheiser and Dr. Andreas Sennheiser as the third generation of the family to run the company, generated a global turnover of €658.4 million in the fiscal year of 2016. The Group's profit before taxes rose by 15.2 per cent to €34.9 million compared to the same period in the previous year. In Thailand, the consumer sales turnover in 2016 showed double-digit growth compared to 2015. This positive outcome was an effect of a direct business model move for Sennheiser's consumer division two years ago. The shift from a conventional to a direct distribution model in Thailand stemmed from increased need for engagement with customers and a shorter sales response time.
Investments in Thai market
Since Thailand is a growing regional market for the brand, Sennheiser has invested in its Thai sales channels over the past few years. The brand is now present in major consumer electronics, specialist audio and lifestyle retailers in Thailand and is working to expand its retail listing. These include brand-led partnerships with local sales partners, such as the "Sennheiser Day" series of awareness events, focusing on consumer engagement with specific categories of Sennheiser headphones like the audiophile and gaming categories.
The digital growth of Thailand has also played a role in contributing to the consumer electronics industry and more so in the smartphone market. Riding on the rising e-commerce wave, Sennheiser has expanded its retail footprint online by setting up Official Stores on Lazada, Southeast Asia's fastest-growing online marketplace. Customers all over Thailand can now purchase Sennheiser headphones and earphones on Lazada Thailand with ease. The Thai e-store portfolio will soon extend to selected Sennheiser microphones in the prosumer audio category, offering audio solutions for target groups such as musicians and videographers.
Apart from increasing its point-of-sales visibility, Sennheiser has also placed substantial emphasis on local audio education initiatives. The "Sennheiser Sound Forum" is an initiative to strengthen the brand's audio leadership efforts and commitment to the region through sustained educational events. The Sennheiser Sound Forum has provided a platform for sharing trends and insights with customers and the media about various audio topics, to help keep them abreast of market and industry trends. Three Sennheiser Sound Forum events have taken place in Thailand since its inauguration in April 2016, with the most recent gaming-focused edition held in March this year.
The future of audio
The consumer electronics industry in Thailand remains strong with an increasing consumer demand for new innovations and technologies. As part of the company's vision to shape the future of audio, Sennheiser increased its global investment in research and development activities by 16 per cent to €54.5 million in 2016 as compared to the previous year. Research and development expenses amounted to 8.3 per cent of the Group's 2016 global turnover.
Following the recent Bangkok debut of the best headphones in the world – the Sennheiser HE 1, the audio specialist is continuing its leadership in audio with revolutionary audio technologies. The strategic lighthouse project of the research and development work is AMBEO. 3D audio formats will be a significant driver for innovation in the field of audio in the future – whether it is recording, processing or reproduction. AMBEO is a framework to develop various hardware and software products as well as workflows, and Sennheiser has already introduced some products under the AMBEO trademark. With the AMBEO SMART HEADSET, the audio specialist's 3D audio experience will soon become available to end consumers. Other products that also embody Sennheiser's audio excellence include the Digital 6000 wireless microphone system, HD 800 S and IE 800 audiophile headphones, as well as the TeamConnect Wireless portable conferencing solution, which have been receptive amongst Thai users.
"As an independent, family-owned business with over seven decades of audio manufacturing, design and expertise, ensuring the quality of our products is an important aspect in our product creation process. We pride ourselves in our German engineering heritage and our innovation spirit so that we can continue to create the future of audio," said Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, Co-CEO of Sennheiser.
The use of smartphones and consumer electronics devices continues to gain popularity in Thailand due to rising incomes and decreasing smartphone prices. With Bluetooth remaining a major trend in the consumer electronics market, Thai consumers are increasingly using wireless headphones for everyday commutes. As Sennheiser continues to increase its wireless headphone portfolio, sales for this category have doubled in Thailand during the first months in 2017 compared to the same period in the previous year.
Sennheiser's market and product innovation investments have paid off in Thailand. "Thai consumers are very dynamic and diverse. We have found that constant opportunities for engagement at various touchpoints opens new possibilities for our customers to enjoy the best sound experiences," says Dr. Andreas Sennheiser.