Saturday, June 16, 2012

Audio specialist Sennheiser expands reach in PH market

..By Alexander Villafania

MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA—Encouraged by the strong smartphone and handheld music player market in the Philippines, German audio specialist Sennheiser is putting efforts to expand its business in the Philippines.

Despite a cutthroat audio accessory sector in the Philippines, Sennheiser opened its first concept store at the V-Mall Shopping Center in San Juan City in an effort to boost its reputation.

In an interview, Sennheiser Asia President and Managing Director Ng Chee Soon said that the brand has been in the Philippines for a while (through distribution channels).

It was only now, however, that Sennheiser focused on the Philippines especially with the onset of inexpensive handheld music players and smartphones with audio capabilities.

Filipinos are able to discern better audio quality from their headsets and earphones. As such, they will invest in a good brand to be able to have a fuller audio experience while on the go, added the official.

“Filipinos are now listening to music more than ever because their mobile phones are allowing them the convenience to listen to their favorite songs. At the same time, they want to hear their songs better so music lovers will spend on their audio accessories,” Ng said.

Ng added that as the audio accessory industry becomes saturated with other brands (Jabra and SkullCandy have distribution networks in the Philippines), he said that this sector is still large enough for other players.

“We still have a niche market for audio professionals but we expect a lot of growth coming from consumer electronics segment especially with more people having more than just one multimedia device,” Ng said.

Other than the consumer electronics market, Ng added that they are also looking to provide headsets for the corporate market for Internet telephony.

Through their local distribution partner Iontech, Inc., Ng said Sennheiser is looking to provide equipment for the call center industry.

Ricky Sy, managing director of Iontech said that many contact center companies are now looking at better headsets for their employees who are taking in calls primarily to improve communication with customers.

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