Latestone.com & PTron to Co-exist Together

Ameen Khwaja, CEO & Founder - LatestOne.com in a chat with VARINDIA shares the company’s strategies to leverage the growing online marketplace in India and the current focus of becoming a leading player in this space -

How is LatestOne.com positioned in the online retail market today?

LatestOne.com is positioned as the market leader for mobile and tech accessories online. We are the only e-tailer specialized in mobile and tech accessories vertical. Our product lines will be extended to computer accessories, electronic accessories, gadgets etc. During our journey we have also created our own brand called PTron which is positioned as a brand in the mid-market/semi-branded segment. We have already sold 6 lac units of PTron products till date. PTron and LatestOne.com co-exist as one combined business model due to high synergies.

What is your competitive strategy now since online is a lucrative marketplace for many?

LatestOne.com’s USP is to sell products directly from factory to customer with no middleman in between. We have control on the quality, price, and delivery of our products. We offer high quality products at best prices with satisfactory customer service. LatestOne.com is a niche vertical in e-commerce for Bluetooth products, gadgets, mini-PCs, power banks, all types of cables and mobile & tablet accessories. We store and sell more than 10,000 SKUs comprising of latest mobile and tech accessories. PTron products are sold at 50-75% of competitor pricing in semi-branded segment. For eg, PTron HBE7 ear phone retails at 299/- comparable to similar Philips earphone which retails at 699/-.

What is the current focus of the company?

* To become a market leader in online tech and mobile accessories business in India - B2B & B2C. Online B2C - 60%, Online B2b - 30% and franchise operated retail kiosk - 10%
* INR 1,000 Crore Revenue e-commerce Company by 2021
* Gross Margin Contribution positive Company in 2017 – 18
* EBITDA profitable Company in 2018-19
* Expand the business internationally - Focus on emerging economies (Country / Region) of 50M plus population such as Indonesia, Turkey, Philippines, Mexico, South        Africa, Brazil etc

What are your investment plans with regard to expansion, Sales & marketing and market presence?

LatestOne.com has received a total fund of INR 50 crore. Out of the total fund, INR 10 crores was Angel fund and INR 20 crores was Series A. The remaining INR 20 crore was put into investment. We are having next round of funding already to grow our business in line with our business objectives. LatestOne.com has already stepped into b2b online space for mobile and tech accessories and targets to enrol 1,000 dealers by end of FY 16-17.

How have you structured your distribution ecosystem (logistics)? How many partners do you work with today?

LatestOne.com has five logistic partners. Below is the shipment distribution -

Aramex - 20%

Delhivery- 56%

Blue Dart - 6%

First flight - 3%

Speed post/EMS - 15%

How successful has LatestOne.com been in capturing the middle tier market and penetrating into tier II and III cities?

LatestOne.com receives 70% orders from tier- I cities, 26% orders from tier-II and remaining from tier-III cities.