CEO Insights India

The Indian electronics and audio video accessories market has been growing rapidly over the last couple of decades. The increasing demand for these products has also resulted in many companies mushrooming in this vertical every year. Gadget Wagon is one of the pioneering names in the Indian electronics and audio video accessories industry and even though they are catering to a niche market, their products are significantly cheaper when compared to that of their competitors.

That been said, the company is committed to never compromise on the quality of its offerings which has helped it to make impressive strides in the industry within a short span of time. Over the years, the company has created an impressive product portfolio which are divided into different segments including electronics, tv mounts and stands, audio video cables, and power supplies. Gadget Wagon is the brain child of Karan Kishnani whose guidance has helped the company to expand its horizons even more by taking a customer-centric approach. Karan prioritizes on offering innovative products that offers a seamless user experience to their customers.

In an exclusive interview with CEO INSIGHTS, Karan Kishnani talks more about Gadget Wagon and how he has helped the company to reach for greater heights in the industry.

Could you give us a brief insight into the inception story of Gadget Wagon? Also, what motivates you to constantly improve the quality of your products?
I started working in the e-Commerce industry around 10 years ago and during the initial phase of our company we sourced our finance from money lenders. While it was a challenge at first, I saw immense potential in this segment as online was going to be a mainstay. After starting our production, we

expanded and got into imports as well and now, after more than half a decade of our operations, we have been able to develop into one of the market leaders in this vertical. Over the years, we have been able to not only build but also maintain an impressive clientele. Even though, the industry was having ups and downs over the last couple of years, we have been able to clock in steady growth figures and in the last four years and we have seen a 100 percent growth every year.

We are trying to solve the issues faced by the consumers and we see gaps in a myriad of product segments in this industry vertical. We do extensive research on finding ways to bridge these gaps and we also fix the problems faced by the customers by working with the factories. This allows us to create unique products that can meet our customers requirements and offer a seamless experience when it comes to installation, usage or claiming warranty.

We have given major emphasis on automation as well and keeping abreast with the latest technologies to constantly improve our operations and consequently assist our clients. So, when it comes to what motivates me- it is me being able to help our clients around everything. Over the last decade, the taste of the customers has drastically changed and we found that Indian buyers now are ready to pay for better quality products. This allows us to focus on ensuring constant innovation and consistent improvement in the quality of our products.

Why did you establish your company in Chennai? How has been the place favouring you so far in your operations?
I was born and brought up in Chennai and when I stated the company, I saw immense potential to scale our operations in there. Aside from easy access to the port, metal and furniture manufacturing is also cheap here. Over the years in Chennai, we have seen an increasing focus on producing high quality products which goes hand-in-hand with what we want to do as well. All these have helped our business to grow even more.

Can you talk more about the work culture at the company?
Even though, we have a very small team, most our operations are automated which increases efficiency and drastically reduces the recurring chances of error. We

are one of the leanest companies in this vertical and this allows us to offer better salaries to our employees as well.

We have created an open work environment and I have given my employees autonomy. We work together to improve our products and decide what changes we need to make to ensure better customer satisfaction. Our employees can freely give suggestions on how to improve the quality of our products. We understand that our employees have their own aspirations in their lives and we try to support them by offering good salaries and growth opportunities. We also give major emphasis on educating our employees. All this has helped us to create a supportive work environment and it is why, none of our employees have left us stating work related issues.

Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Because of COVID-19, many were forced to work from their homes in the last couple of years, and that’s when we realized that there is so much untapped potential in this market segment. Many companies have also started to realize the advantages of having their employees work remotely. We are finding the best possible solutions on how they can use their electronic devices with better mobility and maximum comfort.

Going forward, we are seeing increasing demand for ergonomic furniture and we are constantly innovating to offer them the best products. We are planning to develop plastic and metal tables for people to work from home which are at level pegging with products used in countries like the US and Germany. We are also trying to do R&D with metal companies where they are fabricating and giving us the prototypes which we will later take to a bigger factory for production in the future.

Karan Kishnani, Owner, Gadget Wagon
This passionate leader has immense business insight which he leverages to help Gadget Wagon gain a competitive edge over the rest. His passion for constant learning has also helped him to come up with innovative products and stay ahead of the curve.