For this ‘Made in India’ power bank company, Atmanirbhar Bharat means big business

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat and said we must be ‘vocal for local’ on May 12, this Delhi-based company’s management had the widest smile.

This company knew that the country’s youth would now start questioning where the product they buy are manufactured and this would automatically lead to a better business.

Power-bank industry firm Ambrane India which is only an eight year-old company is betting big on the self-reliant India vision of the government.

At a time when majority of the power banks sold in India are manufactured in China, Ambrane wants to be the differentiator and rely on local resources.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Sachin Railhan, Director, Ambrane India said that the company has seen a rise in business ever since the lockdown restrictions were lifted.

“We had a turnover of Rs 140 crore last year. But ever since the lockdown was imposed and work-from-home became the new normal, we have seen a rise in the demand for our power banks by 20-30 percent because mobile phones are like an essential product now,” he added.

Remote working amidst the Coronavirus-led lockdown has also meant that a lot of salaried professionals could not carry their office laptops/computers back home. Hence, mobile phones are replacing these devices making it necessary to have battery backup in the form of external power banks.

The power bank industry in India is estimated to be around Rs 2,000 crore and 0.5 million power banks are sold every month. Ambrane has a market share of around 30 percent in the country. Other brands in the segment include Xiaomi, Lenovo, Philips and Syska.

Railhan explained that the aversion to China would work well for markets like India and Vietnam which could become the next manufacturing hub.

Countries across the globe have expressed concerns about the way China handled the Coronavirus outbreak and the alleged miscommunication that led to COVID-19’s rapid spread worldwide.

The India-China Galwan Valley standoff that led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers has also deepened the anti-China stance in India. In fact, Indian customs officials are inspecting imports from China more closely and may also seek details on country of origin for products sold on e-commerce.

“We already have three manufacturing facilities in the North. And considering the global anti-China stance, we are looking to ramp up manufacturing further and also add new product categories,” he added.

The first product to be added would be hair trimmers and Railhan explained that this would be a good space to play in since there are no completely ‘Made in India’ brands in this category.

The male grooming industry is pegged at Rs 5,000 crore of which hair trimmers and allied products are said to constitute 40 percent of the total share.