GoPro Intl. to tap into massive action-tourism market of SL

 Stereovision Chairman Harish Samtani 

By Divya Thotawatte

With Sri Lanka being named the best place to travel this year, GoPro International, the dominant brand in the world of action cameras, recently launched itself in the island in a bid to tap into its potential market of action-loving tourists and travellers. GoPro International Sole Distributor in India Stereovision struck a deal with Camera Hub Sri Lanka as the authorised key dealer in the country. Stereovision Chairman Harish Samtani, during an interview with Daily FT, disclosed insights on the launch and future prospects for GoPro in the local market. Following are excerpts of the discussion:

Q: While GoPro International is a globally renowned brand, what do you think about the market of Sri Lanka? What is the relevance of the Sri Lankan market in the global scenario?

 I believe that GoPro should have launched in Sri Lanka earlier, but it is not too late. We have an ever-changing market globally; we have different mind-sets of people. Each country has its own passions and it all depends on what the country is specifically driven by. Some countries are passionate about football and a GoPro is of no use for that kind of sport, but there are countries where people do water sports and skiing and, GoPros will definitely have a market in these countries. For example, even though the population of India is much larger, it has got less action tourists. Travellers always come to Sri Lanka for one reason or another. There is so much of activity going on outside of Colombo and the market is very large. Travellers here have more knowledge on action-based cameras, the tourism level is huge and we have to address that. 

Furthermore, there will also be people who buy GoPros to photograph or video activities and games they do as a family. We can count on that because the tourists and travellers coming to Sri Lanka are wealthy. Colombo is just a part of this, but the sales outside of Colombo will be much bigger and we will also have to address that.

Q: How did you come about this deal with Camera Hub?

GoPro has been working in Sri Lanka in a very sporadic fashion. There was no systematic approach to this, because, for a long time, Sri Lanka was not on the radar for GoPro. We understand that this market is huge, we can’t ignore it anymore. Earlier GoPro was a product which was specifically made for sports and now, it has become a tool for a traveller. 

We have found out that many travellers in Sri Lanka, due to the lack of proper availability of GoPro products in the country, wanted to tie up with somebody who had the same passion for action cameras. This is where Camera Hub fitted in for us. They were not looking for just cameras and accessories to buy and sell, because you need a passion for this product to share with other dealers and, that is what it’s all about. 

With GoPro, we have 60 accessories available for customers and, out of these, only about 30 are commonly used. But, if you’re going for cycling, for instance, you can’t just take the camera in your hand. You need to mount it correctly on the roll bar, or on the head, helmet or chest to be able to actually capture the moment. For that, you need someone who understands GoPro, the ecosystem and where it comes from. There is a particular DNA for GoPro which is not common with anything else. 

Q: What has the experience been like working with Camera Hub and in Sri Lanka?

 It has been very good journey so far. There have been no problems working with Camera Hub, it is a very straightforward company and what you see is what you get, which is usually not the case with many of the people I’ve dealt with in the industry. Usually, people tend to try to take our authorisation and they try to bring in similar products and that is something which has become a problem in most global markets. One has to deal with it and the only way to solve is offering it to the customer. 

Moreover, since the customers have evolved, we wanted a dealer who can guide the customer on how to use our cameras because sometimes, people buy a GoPro because it is fashion. We have to explain to the customers how each feature can be used, and based on the customer’s activities, we need to give him suitable accessories for that to maximise the use of it. Importantly, buying from unauthorised dealers will only waste the customers’ time, because discounts and lower prices are not going to make a difference. That is why, together with Camera Hub, we are working to offer training programs to assist people interested in investing in action cameras. 

Q: What opportunities and challenges did you identify launching in Sri Lanka? 

 As an opportunity, we’re initially looking at about a little above $ 500,000 immediately as a start line turnover and we expect to grow at least 30% annually, and especially with the new models coming in, we expect a spike in sale. We can’t disclose what is coming next, but there will be something coming out every year. Then we will have to analyse the market, understand what the customer requires and focus on the serious travellers. These are things we will learn as we go along in the market and, we’re trying to understand it before taking the next steps.

As for the challenges, we have learnt that there is an off-season in Sri Lanka. Also, giving customers the proper training is important. We can’t make sure that the customers buying GoPro products online have access to training, but again we don’t want uneducated customers; that is not good for the brand. To get the full experience of our cameras, we ask all customers to come to us; we will give free training. 

Q: Will there be any new products hitting the market soon? 

 We have already started this journey with Camera Hub and we will be launching some products and accessories which compliment GoPro. There are none that can compete with GoPro cameras and accessories, but some products that will be around the ecosystem of the brand will be launched soon. We will be launching at least three products within a month. These products are very unique accessories which are not common even among people who travel a lot. 

Moreover, people, after investing in a GoPro and its accessories, get bored after a while. They start asking for newer products and “What’s next?”, therefore we’re going to be adding on very quickly, some of them almost simultaneously with our main GoPro products. 

Q: In what ways will GoPro International be different from the other action-camera brands?

 GoPro products are completely different from others in the market. There is nothing it can be compared to. There are brands which call their products ‘action cameras’. But, it is not at all the same, and therefore we don’t believe that we have any competition so to speak. Our challenge is to reach out and say we’re here, that we are able to support the Sri Lankan customers and travellers. Our prices are not that different from those in the grey market and we are genuine products. 

People are buying duplicate products and accessories because of their lack of knowledge, and they’re buying cameras for about Rs. 75,000 average. When you’re spending so much on a product buy the genuine accessory which works better and does things more efficiently. We’re not here for the largest number of outlets; we’re not products like LG, Sony or Samsung. GoPro needs to keep the outlets niche; we need to keep the outlets which have understood our products and where the sales person can guide the customer when he asks about them. That’s the important thing. 

Q: How does GoPro plan to cater to and capture the Sri Lankan market?

 Sri Lanka is rising as a tourist destination and since GoPro was not present here officially, the grey market started coming in. People were hand-carrying, which happens in any country when suddenly from zero tax it increases to 20% tax. But that is going to happen because you’re not able to accept that you’re paying 20% more and it is more a mind-block than the pricing. 

When a traveling customer buys a GoPro from another country he does not get the same price that Camera Hub gets, as dealer and distributor, it gets a different pricing that would in a way compensate for the import duties and taxes. We’re trying to offset those so that we will be able to have a legitimate way of offering GoPro to the customer here. 

Furthermore, we are now going to make a systematic approach to selling GoPro products in Sri Lanka. We have found outlets and brands like Dialog and Wow.lk which also have the target audience for us. It will make our distribution easier. Also, GoPro has got a fantastic warranty system; if the camera goes bad within a year, we don’t just repair it, we replace it. It happens one in a million and that is why we offer it so boldly. 

With Camera Hub, we might be able to cut off the grey market part of it and extend it to an 18 month warranty. I have been working with them in India for eight years, and so far we haven’t gotten a single defected product brought back. We believe that we will have a great future in Sri Lanka, we have ambitious targets set, and we think we will be able to achieve them quite soon. 

Q: GoPro has become so popular in the last few years. Do you have any predictions about how the market will be in the next few years? What new trends do you see coming in? 

 A while ago, everybody thought that the mobile phone with all the fancy cameras in it will disturb the camera market. But, even if it’s a waterproof cell phone, people wouldn’t jump into the ocean with it because although mobile phones are useful for other things, they can never replace an action camera. 

As far as the action-camera market goes, we feel confident that we will be completely dominant. We haven’t seen a second action camera that could come even close to the quality of the GoPro cameras. Sony and Nikon have both launched new action models, but when we take the action-camera category across all price ranges, which mean Chinese upwards, we don’t see any competition. 

But there are some people who are brand-driven, they don’t care what GoPro has to offer, they will only buy from the brand that they like. It is not easy to change the likings of that sort of customers, but we’re confident that we have at least 70% of the action-camera market at minimum.