Boat business model | Success story

Going for an IPO by a company is a movement of pride. It does not always mean a dilution of shares in need of funds but it justifies the company’s transition. The Boat which was started in the year 2016 as an audio products company is all set to launch its public offer any time soon. 

This simply appears that they have come a long way and have achieved value growth despite tough rivalry in the market. We will be knowing the journey of this audio brand company from start to public offering along with the Boat business model. But, before that let us check out the scenario of the Indian audio and wearable products market before Boat’s arrival. 

Indian audio and wearable products market before Boat’s existence

The Indian audio and wearable device market was dominated by strong brands. These brands were none other than the mobile phone companies that were providing audio and wearable products to the users. And then gradually the market gave existence to audio products supplying brands that came in with great innovation and derive convenience to the users. 

The Indian consumers also wholeheartedly adopted the emerging innovation brought by audio product brands that most of the mobile phone companies were lacking.

They give birth to portable speakers, Bluetooth connectivity, and smart & wireless audio products. While the innovation was already there, then how does Boat manage to build its market share in this industry. Don’t worry we got you an answer, Boat found out that innovation is key but customers can switch to a brand that is a mix of innovation, quality, and style. And that too at an affordable price.

About: Boat

Boat was founded in the year 2016 by Aman Gupta (CMO) and Sameer Mehta (Chief product officer) headquartered in Delhi, India. Boat is not just an audio and wearable products company but is a lifestyle brand. It offers an extensive range of speakers, headphones, earplugs, smartwatches, mobile accessories, and home audio accessories.  

The founders believe that India is a country where people are crazy about Bollywood and Cricket. So, as to reach and connect to a wider community they have affixed cricket and Bollywood prints on some of their product range. Additionally, they performed brand endorsement and promotional tactics collaborating with film celebs and cricketers. Talking about the growth, then Boat has reached great levels within 5-6 years and has successfully served more than 50 lakh customers.

Although, being an early startup it was still profitable during its initial stage. All because of strong customer focus strategies with the blend of wide coverage through the internet. And, now Boat is the 5th largest wearable brand all over the globe. Additionally, they are on a verge of going public this year. 

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Boat business model 

Let us shout out to our main topic i.e Boat business model. Boat disrupted the audio and wearables industry with its spectacular innovation, the customer connects, quality at a competitively low price. Also, all these amenities and product attributes were offered to customers through a complete digital model. 

Yes, they brought in convenience by building their presence not only through their official website but with Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Jabong. All the platforms are already crowded with a large number of buyers seeking quality products at an attractive price.

Now, going more deeper into its revenue streams then Boat is now available both online and offline. We already touched upon its online partners while they serve their offline customers through the distribution model. It got more than 20 distributors that supply Boat’s products to offline retailers. 

Their speedy growth and reach are truly helping them in scaling their business. Boat released more than double revenue in FY21 as compared to FY20.

The growth is backed by the elevation of its product portfolio and targeting the right customers with innovative product solutions.  

Boat’s strategies behind the success

Boat is a very dynamic company and always seek alteration in its offerings with change in customer preferences. Some of the strategies behind the success of Boat are:

1. Boat tries to build a loyal customer community by calling their product users Boatheads, they try to make them feel that after buying from us you are a part of our business.

2. They use clever marketing strategies by collaborating with trending celebrities such as new-gen Bollywood stars and cricketers. As they know that most of the millennials and gen-z truly follow them.

3. Leveraging heavy digital presence on popular e-commerce platforms and making social media a weapon to capture to reach out to a wider audience.

Take away

Boat has come a long way and has successfully built a brand image in the minds of the customers. And the reading simply indicates that the growth was not overnight but a lot of hard work was pumped in by the team. We read about the Boat business model, offerings, and the strategies opted by them to revolutionize the Indian audio and wearable products market that was mostly acquired by old players.