Boult becomes GoBoult, aiming for ₹1K cr sales and international expansion

Boult rebrands as GoBoult with an aim to target premium categories in wearables and hearables. The company plans international expansion and an IPO, despite production challenges

Smart wearables and hearables manufacturing company Boult is undertaking a brand image change, and will adopt the name GoBoult with an aim to capture the more premium segment of users, the company’s cofounder and chief executive officer (CEO) Varun Gupta said.

 

The rebranding comes at a time when production at most hearable and wearable manufacturing units in India, including those of Boult, 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 rare-earth magnet supplies from China continue to be constrained, he said.

 

“The supplies have been constrained. We are looking at alternative 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 September, Gupta added.

 

“We are looking at a ₹1,000 crore-plus 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 ₹1,000 crore,” he said.

 

The company, which was founded in 2017, will target the ₹2,000 and above average-selling-price segment for both wearables and hearables, Gupta said, adding that the audio segment contributes about 75 per cent of the company’s total revenues while the smartwatches and other wearables contribute the rest 25 per cent.

 

The digital-first company, which sells nearly 93 per cent 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.

 

Once rebranding is complete, the company has plans to foray into the US, European, Southeast Asian, and East Asian markets within the next five years, Gupta said.