Latest news with #GoBoult
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Business Standard
04-08-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Boult becomes GoBoult, aiming for ₹1K cr sales and international expansion
Smart wearables and hearables manufacturing company Boult is undertaking a brand image change and will adopt the name GoBoult to capture the more premium segment of users, the company's co-founder and chief executive officer, Varun Gupta, said. The rebranding comes at a time when production at most hearable and wearable manufacturing units in India, including Boult's, has been halted or slowed down due to a shortage of rare-earth magnets and other crucial elements that are imported almost exclusively from China. Gupta, however, said that the production stoppage was also necessary since the company wanted to liquidate all the old stock before rolling out the rebranded products. 'Thankfully, it was not so much of a problem for us because, anyway, we were going through a transition. We had to maintain low stock for the last 45 days and the next 30 days as well. We did not want to be producing a huge amount of stock under the old name Boult,' Gupta said. The company may, however, face hiccups even after the rebranding exercise is complete, as the rare-earth magnet supplies from China continue to be constrained, he said. 'The supplies have been constrained. We are looking at alternate suppliers in China; sometimes we are looking at importing, while at other times, it takes a premium to get the same material. As much as we would like to avoid it, we also face issues and capacity constraints,' Gupta said. The company aims to hit the market with the rebranded products starting in September, Gupta added. 'We are looking at a Rs 1000 crore+ number this year. We want to do a few strategic things, such as going international and going for an IPO (initial public offering) as we hit Rs 1000 crore,' he said. The company, which was founded in 2017, will target the Rs 2000 and above average selling price segment for both wearables and hearables, Gupta said. He added that the audio segment contributes to about 75% of the company's total revenues, while smartwatches and other wearables contribute to the other 25%. The digital-first company, which sells nearly 93% of its products through online channels and e-commerce websites, is also planning to expand its retail and offline-store presence, aiming to reach more than 30,000 stores within the next 18 months, he said. GoBoult, the rebranded company, plans to foray into the US, European, Southeast Asian, and East Asian markets within the next five years, Gupta said.
Economic Times
04-08-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Boult eyes 4x profit in FY26, rebrands to GoBoult for premium push
Boult expects a fourfold rise in net profit and 40% revenue growth in FY26, driven by premiumisation and rebranding to GoBoult. It aims to shed its value-for-money image and target higher average selling prices to cross Rs 1,000 crore in revenue. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Homegrown wearables maker Boult expects its net profit to surge four times on a 40% growth in revenue in this fiscal year through March 31, 2026, boosted by its premiumisation push, its co-founder Varun Gupta told ET. He added that the company is aiming to shed its value-for-money image amidst huge competition at the lower end, with a new name and logo for the which started operations in 2017, has seen its revenues doubling to Rs 800 crore in two years in FY2025, is aiming to cross the Rs 1,000 crore mark in FY26 on the back of average selling prices expected to cross over Rs 2,000, from Rs 1200 currently, Gupta bootstrapped wearables brand reported a net profit of Rs 2.5 crore, amidst intensifying competition as it saw its marketing and customer acquisition costs rise. Following the rebranding exercise, Gupta is targeting its net profits to cross Rs 10 crore in the next company is renaming itself to GoBoult, with the aim to shift its image from being a value-for-money brand to a more premium, youthful, contemporary brand image.'We are changing the way we think, operate, and build. GOBOULT is a brand that aligns with and is prepared for the pace and personality of the next generation. The rebrand reflects our commitment to moving faster, thinking bigger, and taking Indian innovation global,' Gupta said that despite the overall wearable and smartwatch segments declining in double digits and the truly-wireless audio segment remaining flat, Boult has not seen its growth slow down. It remains in the top five brands for both audio and smartwatches in the March quarter, according to company aims to move into higher ASP categories, by launching premium products and forming partnerships with legacy brands. Boult currently has a partnership with US auto brand Mustang. It is also partnering with Dolby for audio products.'We are the only bootstrapped and profitable player among the top five in the wearables industry. This shift is crucial because ASPs in the category have been declining, leading to lower gross profitability for the industry,' Gupta told part of its rebuild, the company wants to aggressively tap into offline retail, something which Gupta said was being hampered by its rival brands which had a higher market share in the offline space.'We encountered unfair practices from competition when we first started tapping into offline channels in February-March 2024. Some of our competitors, who had been in the space for 8-10 years and much larger in scale were pushing retailers not to stock our products,' Gupta hiccups, though, have now been solved, he said, adding that the company products are now available across 1,000 offline stores. It has now hired over 30 people for offline sales, with over 38 distributors and over 100 people out in the streets building its retailer network. The aim is to expand to 30,000 counters within the next 18 months, Gupta said.'The offline channel currently generates around Rs 5 crore in revenues every month. The goal is to increase it to a monthly Rs 25 crore. The largest player in the offline space is doing Rs 100 crore a month,' Gupta added.
Mint
04-08-2025
- Business
- Mint
Boult rebrands as GoBoult, takes premium detour en route to ₹1,000-crore IPO goal
Mumbai: Homegrown wearables brand Boult has been rebranded to GoBoult as it looks to reposition itself in the premium segment, expand its offline footprint and prepare for a public listing within 18 months. The move comes on the back of a strong FY25 in which the company posted ₹800 crore in revenue. It aims for ₹1,000 crore this year, and has laid out plans to scale its retail presence from 3,000 stores to more than 30,000 and enter new international markets including the US, Europe, Southeast Asia and East Asia. 'The idea is to align with how today's consumers move and spend. If we want to grow ASPs (average selling price), expand globally and strengthen offline, we can't stay where we are," Varun Gupta, co-founder of GoBoult, said in an interview with Mint. 'This is not just a name change—it's a shift in positioning." GoBoult has already rolled out the new branding across its packaging, e-commerce listings and digital channels. A marketing campaign that includes digital, print, out-of-home and influencer activations is underway. While 95% of its spending has traditionally gone to digital, the share will dip to 80% for this campaign. The company plans to spend in 'double-digit crores" on the rollout. Founded in 2017, Boult claims to be the second-largest audio brand and third-largest smartwatch player in India by volume. Audio products currently bring in 73% of revenue and wearables account for the remaining 27%. The company remains bootstrapped and profitable and has sold more than three crore products to date, Gupta claims. According to Counterpoint Research, India's true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds market posted just 4% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2025. Boult, however, reported 46% growth in the same period, the highest among the top five brands, taking its market share to nearly 17%. Premium aspirations The shift in branding coincides with a renewed focus on the higher end of the market. GoBoult is entering the ₹2,000-plus ASP category with new product lines and partnerships. Its Mustang-branded audio devices launched in collaboration with Ford now account for 12.5% of revenue, or ₹100 crore. Another premium series, Klarity, contributes 7.5%. 'We've seen consumer hesitation with higher pricing under the Boult name. The rebrand helps reset that perception while carrying forward the credibility we've built," Gupta said. Existing product prices will remain unchanged, but new launches will be positioned at higher price points. GoBoult has already clocked ₹300 crore in revenue in the first four months of FY26, Gupta said. A small pre-IPO funding round is under consideration, and the company is targeting a ₹3,500-4,000 crore valuation for its proposed listing, he added. Boult entered offline retail just 15 months ago and is currently sold in more than 3,000 stores, including Reliance Digital, Croma and 2,000 general trade outlets. It expects to expand to 12,000 stores by the end of 2025 and 30,000 by the time of the IPO. While e-commerce contributes the bulk of its revenue, quick commerce now accounts for 10-12% and is the fastest-growing channel. 'We're live on more than 1,300 Blinkit dark stores. But our offline push is essential for wider penetration and visibility," Gupta said. Global expansion On the global front, the brand is live in the UK and Nepal and plans to expand to Southeast Asia and parts of Europe in the coming months. By the time it goes public, GoBoult expects to be active in at least 10 international markets. GoBoult manufactures 25% of its products in-house, primarily for product development and repairs. The rest is handled by third-party manufacturers. The company says 99% of its products are assembled in India, though some components continue to be sourced from China. As part of its road map, the company is investing ₹25 crore in R&D and product development, with a focus on hardware-software integration and user experience. It also plans to expand its internal design and engineering teams. Gupta said the aim is to reposition GoBoult as a more design-led and globally relevant brand while continuing to build on the domestic growth momentum. 'The shift is also about raising the quality of retail, packaging, and product experience and not just the messaging," he said. Gupta added that future brand collaborations will focus on longer-term associations rather than short-term licensing deals. 'The Mustang deal was a learning. We're not just slapping on logos. Every detail is co-developed. That's the approach we'll stick with," he said. With revenue targets, IPO plans, and global expansion all aligned to the same 18-month window, the company is hoping the GoBoult identity can help it to grow beyond the value segment without losing its existing customers.
