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Music systems are not portable! Hence, we all want such devices that can easily be carried with us while traveling. This is the idea that gave rise to headphones and earphones as a portable alternative to traditional music systems. These devices can easily be carried from one place to another, thereby offering the same feel as speakers and music systems. With the emergence of headphones, music lovers, listeners of music, and other professionals can now listen to their favorite tracks, watch the movies of their choice, and talk with their office colleagues, managers, and friends without disturbing others. Though the headphones have been used for quite some time in India, just like they are used in any other part of the world, only a handful of Indian manufacturers can be spotted. The boAt company is one of the leading players among them, and the brand simply steals the show!
The boAt has an astonishing collection of earphones, earbuds, headphones, and wireless speakers that stands apart due to the quality, affordability, and world-class designs that the company offers. Founded in 2016, boAt is hailed as India's no. 1 earwear audio brand. The company allows users to experience both spirit and energy at the same time.
boAt has been dubbed the 5th largest wearables brand globally since December 2020.
If you are looking to have a glimpse of the success story of boAt, then ListMyStartup has brought you all about boAt, its business model, revenue model, startup story, funding, founders and team, investors, growth, competitors, future plans, and more.
boAt - Company Highlights
- Startup Name: boAt Lifestyle
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
- Sector: Consumer Electronics
- Founders: Sameer Mehta, Aman Gupta
- Founded: 2016
- Revenue: INR 4,000 crore (approx $500 million) FY23
- Website: boat-lifestyle.com
boAt - About
- boAt is an Indian company that markets audio-focused electronic gadgets like wireless speakers, earbuds (Airdopes), wired and wireless headphones and earphones, home audio equipment, premium rugged cables, and a selection of other technological accessories.
boAt - Industry
- boAt thrives in the vibrant and ever-evolving Consumer Electronics industry, which holds a pivotal role in India's growing technological landscape. This industry has experienced remarkable growth, fueled by the increasing demand for electronic devices and gadgets. With its prominent presence, boAt stands at the forefront of this dynamic market, poised to meet the changing preferences of tech enthusiasts and tech-savvy consumers alike.
- According to Statista, the Consumer Electronics market in India is set to reach a revenue of $69.15 billion in 2023, with an annual growth rate of 5.89% (CAGR 2023–2028).
boAt - Startup Story
- The founders wanted to create a lifestyle brand, which would bring fashionable audio products and accessories to the millennials. boAt is the brainchild of this idea. The company began its journey as a cable manufacturer and seller, which had rapidly expanded its categories to serve over 800,000 customers, as reported in 2020. boAt started as a bootstrapped startup with a capital of around Rs 30 lakhs that came from the founders.
boAt - Founders and Team
Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta are the founders of boAt.
Sameer Mehta
- Sameer Mehta is the Chairman, Executive Director, co-founder, and Chief Product Officer (CPO) of boAt. He is also the Executive Director of Kores (India). Sameer Mehta started his career at Redwood Interactive and was the owner of the company. Mehta completed his schooling at St. Xavier School, Mumbai, and pursued his bachelor's degree in commerce from Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics. Sameer also co-founded Imagine Marketing Pvt. Ltd., the parent company of boAt.
Aman Gupta
- Aman Gupta is the Executive Director, co-founder, and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of boAt. He pursued his bachelor's degree in commerce from Delhi University, after which he joined the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Gupta also pursued an MBA in Finance and Strategy at the Indian School of Business and an MBA in General Management and Marketing as an exchange student at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
- He started working as an Assistant Manager at Citibank and later worked as the co-founder and CEO of Advanced Telemedia Pvt. Ltd. Aman then joined KPMG as a Senior Management Consultant. He also worked as a Sales Director at HARMAN International. Aman Gupta ultimately co-founded boAt in 2016 with Sameer. He also co-founded Imagine Marketing India, which became the parent company of boAt.
boAt - Shareholding
- The majority of the boAt stakes are held by Warburg Pincus, which boasts of holding 36.48% of the company's shares. The boAt co-founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta come next in line with 28.26% shares each. Then, comes Fireside Ventures with 3.76% of the shares, followed by Qualcomm Ventures, which has 2.6% stakes. The remaining 0.64% of the boAt's stake is held by others.
boAt - Name, Tagline, and Logo
- The tagline of the boAt company is, 'plug into nirvana'. Nirvana means attaining complete peace and freedom, which the company aims to extend to the audiophiles of the country and other users.
boAt - Business and Revenue Model
- The company focused on 3 important market strategies to create a good consumer base:
Consumer's Behaviour Pattern
- The founders implemented their research on the products and made the products affordable, durable, and fashionable. boAt focuses on building a customer-brand relationship where it considers the buyers as a member of the boAt family. They also focused a lot on the brand boAt and presented it as an Indian brand. For the marketing of the brand, boAt decided to appoint cricketers and other celebrities as the brand ambassadors of boAt because the Indians are very fond of cricket and Bollywood films. All of these helped the company create a considerable consumer base and become a billion-dollar company in India with smart pricing and attractive looks. boAt now claims of selling 6,000 units per day with four units sold every minute.
- Keeping the customers first: boAt has decided to term its users "boAtheads", thereby making them a part of their clan instead of keeping them anonymous.
- A range of improvisations: boAt is known for its innovations and improvisations. The company carved out an indestructible cable for Apple mobile users after discovering endless complaints about Apple charging cables. As soon as it sensed the urgency of sports and fall-proof headphones, boAt immediately moved out to build them, which are now available in a variety of colors.
- boAt's "Make in India" Drive: boAt has partnered with Dixon Technologies as part of its "Make in India" initiative. This joint venture aims to strengthen boAt's manufacturing capabilities by producing key components like mechanics, plastic molds, speaker drivers, and batteries within the country. This strategic collaboration highlights boAt's commitment to promoting domestic manufacturing and delivering high-quality audio products to the market. Around 15 million products were produced in India by boAt in just FY23.
- Posing as a lifestyle brand: boAt marked itself as a lifestyle brand rather than calling itself a consumer electronics brand.
- An ever-expanding catalog of products: boAt products are ever-increasing. From cables to chargers to audio products, boAt is simply bringing new products powered by innovative technologies and awesome designs. In June 2023, boAt made a significant product launch with the introduction of the Nirvana 525 ANC, the world's first wireless neckband earbuds powered by Dolby Audio.
- Targeting their customers: The youth and millennials are the target customers of the brand and the company is making sure to impress them at any cost. This is the way the company is speedily steering forth.
- Digital marketing: The company has distinctively stayed away from traditional media, thereby choosing the digital way for marketing. Social media platforms like Instagram and others have solely become the pillars of success for boAt.
- boAt revenue mainly comes through the sale of its products and their delivery charges.
boAt IPO
- boAt eyed IPO early in 2022. boAt became the first Indian D2C brand to file for a Rs 2,000 crore IPO, and it planned to file its DRHP with SEBI in the last week of January 2022, as per the reports dated January 18, 2022.
- The Aman Gupta-led brand has received the SEBI nod for its Rs 2,000 crore IPO, as per reports dated May 18, 2022. It also revealed that the fresh issue of shares in the IPO would be worth up to Rs 900 crore while the offer for sale would be worth up to Rs 1,100 crore, as per its DRHP. Both Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta, the founders of boAt, would be selling shares worth up to Rs 150 crore each in the OFS, while Warburg Pincus, the largest shareholder in the company, holds 36.48% stakes in the company through its affiliate South Lake Investments, would be selling shares worth up to Rs 800 crore.
- However, due to ongoing concerns about the volatile stock market, boAt postponed its planned public share sale and instead raised INR 500 crore ($60 million) from private investors.
boAt - Growth and Revenue
The company retails at Croma outlets, Myntra, Amazon, Paytm, and Flipkart. The quality performance of boAt products has helped the company a lot in achieving the growth it has witnessed over the years.
Here's a quick glance at some of the most prominent growth milestones of boAt:
- boAt has gathered 800,000+ customers within a short span of 4 years.
- It claims to add one boAthead to its family within every 3 minutes that pass.
- The company sells four units every minute and over 6,000 units each day.
- The business has been profitable for 5+ years straight.
- boAt's net sales for FY23 reached an impressive milestone, rising to approximately Rs 4,000 crore ($500 million), showcasing impressive growth compared to the previous fiscal years. In FY22, boAt recorded net sales of Rs 2,873 crore, indicating a remarkable growth rate of around 39.1% in FY23. Moreover, when compared to the net sales of Rs 1,314 crore in FY21, the brand's progress becomes even more evident.
- If we break up boAt revenue (FY22), we would find that the company:
- In FY22, boAt's revenue more than doubled, reaching Rs 2,873 crore from Rs 1,314 crore in FY21.
- However, boAt's profit decreased to Rs 68.70 crore in FY22 from Rs 86.50 crore in the previous year.
- The sale of wearables, including smartwatches, accounted for around 18% of the total revenue, which increased to Rs 515.5 crore in FY22 from Rs 54.8 crore in FY21.
- boAt also generated Rs 81.5 crore in revenue from the sale of cables, chargers, men's grooming kits, and gaming equipment during FY22.
- The company booked Rs 13.5 crore as finance income in FY22, comprising interest on fixed deposits and other non-operating income.
boAt - Challenges
boAt started as a bootstrapped company in the initial years with funding of around Rs 30 lakh from the founders and had to struggle initially for raising funds. Apart from this, the company faces numerous challenges day in and day out in manufacturing trendy products at affordable rates and bringing them to the market that is already packed with equally able competitors.
boAt - Acquisitions
boAt has acquired 2 companies: TAGG and KaHa Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based smart wearable IoT (internet-of-things) product development startup. With the addition of the KaHa Platform, boAt strengthens its wearables development and aims to create a comprehensive health and wellness wearables ecosystem within its product portfolio.
boAt - Partnerships
- boAt has formed strategic partnerships with global companies such as Qualcomm (one of boAt's investors), Dolby, and Dirac, enabling the company to incorporate cutting-edge global technology into its audio products. Through strategic collaborations and the in-house R&D facility, boAt Labs, the brand has achieved remarkable advancements in product innovation.
- Recently, boAt has partnered with Amplify.ai and Meta to introduce a messaging experience that revolutionizes the way customers choose their ideal smartwatch. Through an interactive chatbot powered by advanced AI technology, customers can engage in conversational interactions to discover, evaluate, and select their perfect smartwatch. This partnership aims to provide unique and personalized experiences, offering customers a seamless and efficient smartwatch selection process.
- These are just a few examples of boAt's numerous partnerships, highlighting the brand's commitment to innovation, technology, and customer satisfaction.
boAt - Awards and Recognitions
boAt was awarded and recognized on numerous occasions by a list of organizations, here's a look at some of the most prominent awards and recognition of the brand:
The top competitors of the Boat are Noise, Mivi, and Skullcandy.
- The company was declared the "Number 1 brand for truly wireless and earwear in India" as per Q3 CY21.
- It was noted as the "5th largest wearable brand in the world in 2020".
- boAt boasts of being the official audio partner for six Indian Premier League (IPL) teams in 2021.
- It has partnered with a wide range of celebrities and cricketers, from Hardik Pandya to Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani.
- boAt served as the official wearable partner for RCB and GT and the official audio partner for KKR in the 16th season of the IPL, solidifying its position in the cricketing world.
The top competitors of the Boat are Noise, Mivi, and Skullcandy.
Noise
Gonoise is one of the biggest rivals of boAt. It is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India and was founded in 2014. Noise competes in the electronic equipment industry.
Mivi
Mivi is another rival of boAt. It is headquartered in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, India and was founded in 2015. Mivi also operates in the electronic equipment industry.
Skullcandy
- Skullcandy is also one of the top competitors of Boat. It is headquartered in Park City, Utah and was founded in 2003. Skullcandy also works in the electronics industry.
- Apart from these, there are certain other competitors of boAt like pTron, Boult Audio, Fire-Boltt, and Ambrane.
boAt - Future Plans
- The company believes that there is always a trend of buying earphones along with new smartphones. boAt finds this concept to be a channel of success for them. According to the reports, the major phone makers are in the process of stitching new relations with audio companies. For example - Samsung has got JBL and Harman, Apple has Beats, and so on. These manufacturers are attracting consumers with hot deals so that the users don't buy earphones or headphones separately.
- Video consumption would be a demand driver in the coming future.
- boAt is currently aiming to provide more and more products to satisfy the increasingly high demand for technological gadgets and bring them at affordable rates to its users with style! The brand wants to help the Indians get all the quality technological devices that they need from the homegrown brand boAt, without letting them rely on other foreign brands. Additionally, boAt is actively formulating a trust-focused strategy to enter upcoming markets like Singapore and Vietnam, with a strong emphasis on establishing a solid presence and capturing significant market share.
FAQs
What is boAt?
- boAt is an Indian startup that manufactures and distributes electronic gadgets. boAt is founded by Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta and is hailed as one of India's favourite audio and wearable brands today,
When did boAt Company start?
- The boAt company was started in 2016 by Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta.
Who are the founders of boAt?
- The founders of the boAt are Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta.
What is boAt's revenue?
- boAt's net sales for FY23 increased to Rs 4,000 crore ($500 million), demonstrating remarkable growth compared to the previous fiscal year's net sales of Rs 2,873 crore.
How much funding has been raised by boAt?
- boAt Lifestyle has successfully raised $177 million in funding over 7 funding rounds, as of October 28, 2022.
Is boAt an Indian company?
- boAt is an Indian Company. It is headquartered in New Delhi, India
How much is boAt's valuation?
- boAt's valuation is around Rs 2200 crore, as of April 16, 2021.
How are boat headphones?
- According to most reviews, boAt headphones are decent in quality, amazing in design and looks, and pocket-friendly too. boAt is building its brand image and credibility through these qualities that the branch wields.
