RTB Technology to refocus on connected devices
RTB Technology, an IT-gadget distributor, is gearing up to cash in on the emerging market for connected devices as it aims to grow revenue this year by 10 per cent to Bt450 million.
Managing director Banphot Vatanasombut said that this year the company was shifting from its 10-year-old main business of only selling accessories of mobile devices, especially smartphones, to the new growth area of connected devices. Initially the company is focusing on wearable and home-connected devices.
"This year about 60 per cent of our revenue will be contributed by accessories for mobile devices, 15 per cent by wearable devices, and the rest from other sources. We will not see significant revenue this year from home-connected devices, only 3-5 per cent, but we expect these to contribute between 20 and 30 per cent by next year. Home-connected devices are set to be our main revenue stream at around 80 per cent by 2020," he said.
The company is adding six more brands to its existing stable of 10 brands. The new ones are Audio-Technical, Motorola, Mophie, Energea, Smanos, and The Coop Idea. The existing 10 brands are Jabra, Beats, Philips, NudeAudio, Gear4, iUi, UniQ, Maxell, Gigaset, and Jawbone.
This year, the company has set aside a marketing budget of Bt30 million to expand its channel outlets, both offline and online, to introduce targeted customers to new ranges of products.
Banphot said that during the first five months of this year, revenue dropped by 5 per cent compared with the same period of last year, to Bt150 million. However, apart from expanding its line of products to cover the two new growth areas of wearable and home-connected devices, the company plans to expand into Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos by the end of this year.
Initially, it plans to access these markets through local partners, then set up representative offices there.
"We will cooperate with a local partner to set up a representative office in Myanmar by the end of this year, while we work through local distributors in Cambodia and Laos. Revenue from these three markets will contribute around 3 per cent to our total income this year and increase to 10 per cent next year," he said.
