Right time for SMEs to be a part of rising Indian market: Luis Baselga

Top Stories

»	49% Indian startups now from tier 2, 3 cities: Jitendra Singh
»	'India ranks 3rd in global startup ecosystem & number of unicorns'
»	Tripura exported over 9K tonnes of pineapples in 2 years
»	CPI inflation eases to 6.71% in July, IIP falls to 12.3%
»	Rupee depreciates 12 paise to close at 79.64 against US dollar

Vaneeta Punchvedi | 05 Jun, 2015

This is the right time for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be a part of rising Indian market and bring its product line to customers and organizations who believe in quality and innovation. By repositioning, we can not only market the brand in a strategic manner but also can look forward to add value to people's life with new brand identity and product extension, told Luis Baselga Torres, International Director, Simon Holding in a exclusive interview to SME Times.

Excerpts of the interview...

Please tell us something about your organization Simon?
Luis Baselga: Simon is Europe's finest switch maker offering the world-class design and innovation in electrical devices. Our business lines are switches & sockets, connectivity, home control systems, outdoor and indoor lighting, and electric vehicle charging systems. A small workshop set up in Olot (Spain) in 1916 was the start of a saga of excellence; the Simon Group. A family company that grown for four generations, thanks to the hard work and tenacity of the extended family of skilled workmen, technologists, engineers and sales people – thousands who have given their best. Simon Holding today is an industrial group made up of 25 companies throughout the world, with its headquarters in Barcelona (Spain), in the business of producing and marketing electrical devices.

Would you like to talk about the global presence of Simon? What are the major factors of organization which makes them proficient in international market.
Luis Baselga: Simon has a strong presence in 18 countries along with 17 production facilities around the world. The company is offering more than 3,500 varieties of products with sales network covering 98 countries. Head-quartered in Barcelona, Spain, today Simon Holding is USD 266 million industrial group made up of 25 companies globally. The major full factor has been a century-old legacy of quality and trust. The innovation led business and a team of 3800+ professionals worldwide have made the company a world leader in electrical switches, LED lighting, domotics, security, access control, trunking and urban furniture. Also we understand the pulse of our customers as out of every 10 people team in Simon; one person belongs to R&D department to ensure that market demands are being fulfilled accordingly. Simon has successfully executed global projects like Kremlin Palace, Russia; National Stadium, China; Madrid Airport, Spain; European Commission Headquarters and others. Simon is the winner of most prestigious Red Dot Design Award, if Gold Design Award, & many more for its innovative and distinctive product design. With a team of 3,800+ professionals out of which 1 in 10 professional is dedicated to R&D, Simon is catering to premium range of products, which find applications in home, office, hotel, healthcare centers, stadiums, transport, businesses and educational centers etc.

Started from a shop and now you are in 18 countries in all over the world, how you make it possible and how does it feel as king of switches.
Luis Baselga: It feels great & equally responsible to be acknowledged as King of Switches in almost all major countries. With constant efforts of our partners, customers & our highly dedicated strong Simon team we have been able to deliver innovative products to the market. Research & Development are the cornerstone of Simon's leadership status. Out of 3800+ employees worldwide 1 out of 10 professionals is dedicated to R&D. The Research & Development team meets the challenge of generating new ideas to transform design & technology in solutions of comfort, security and sustainability for every market & need. We will also be having our own Global R&D centre in India dedicated to develop new innovative products based on customer's needs & demands. As in order to sustain customer satisfaction is very important to Simon's philosophy.

Please tell our readers about Simon's journey in India, How you see it and what kind of response you are getting from here?
Luis Baselga: Indian market is full of opportunities as many MNCS has established their base to operate their business. As the economy is growing, the infrastructure is also improving, not only in metro cities but in sub metros and other cities too. With this growth, the demands for high quality electrical and lighting products is seeing an upsurge in applications like commercial spaces, IT parks, smart cities, residential luxury projects, transportation and others.

For us, this is the right time to be a part of rising Indian market and bring our product line to customers and organizations who believe in quality and innovation. By repositioning, we are not only marketing the brand in a strategic manner but also looking forward to add value to people's life with new brand identity and product extension. We want to add value added products to the market so that we can deliver to the growing needs/satisfaction of Indian middle & high class segment.

You had won the eminent Red Dot design award, how does it feels please share?
Luis Baselga: As already stated Research & Development has been key mantra for us in all major markets for which we have been given esteemed Red Dot Design Award & many other awards like iF Gold Design Award, iF Product Design Award, Plus X Award etc. Though we also believe that we have more to add to the product range as the customer's needs are changing every day & is different from one market to the other.

What special do you have in your basket for Indian market?
Luis Baselga: Simon sees India as its second-largest global market after China. The company is investing around Rs 25 crore in next three years on R&D, marketing and branding and will also upgrade the quality and expand range of its products here. Currently we have two product ranges in switch/socket segment mainly S82 & Hausmann which comes with variety of color combinations & style for the customers. We will soon be adding more product ranges to our switch/socket segment plus we also have product ranges in our Lighting segment which again is one of the most innovative product. We understand that each market behaves differently hence for us it's very important to deliver our best of services to Indian customers plus adding value added products to the Indian market will be our prime focus which makes us different from our competition.

What are your plannings about strengthening your distribution network in market.
Luis Baselga: Globally , Simon has build a close relationship with it channel partners through strong support with new product introduction , excellent service and customer focused initiatives .
Presently , Simon in India has a presence in North India and is in process of growing distribution network in existing markets ( both metro and non metro towns )by building strong sales team, creating brand awareness and offering high quality products with prompt after sales support .

What are your expectations from Indian market?
Luis Baselga: We would work towards building strong trust in the Indian market surface with our innovations, marketing & direct connect. All we want is support, acceptability as we are here to deliver for long.