DIZO Success Story: Differentiates DIZO From Players in Personal Devices Space?

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DIZO Success Story

Wearables market in India is growing at a high pace post the pandemic. The wearable devices shipping recorded shipping of 23.8 million units in the 2nd quarter of 2021. The global wireless devices market size is estimated to grow from USD 69.0 billion in 2020 to USD 141.1 billion by 2025. Due to high demands of smart devices and smart accessories, the market is growing at a fast pace. Smartwatches, earbuds, and wristbands are the most demanded in wearable devices in India. DIZO is a global consumer technology brand under Realme Techlife Ecosystem which focusses on offering the tech-savvy generation smart AIoT products that can be customized as per their personalities.

Read the startup story of DIZO, products & services, business model, revenue model, and more.

DIZO - Company Highlights

Startup Name-DIZO
Headquarters-Gurgaon, India
Industry-Consumer Technology
CEO-Abhilash Panda
Founded-2021
Website-dizo.net

DIZO - About

DIZO is the first brand under realme TechLife ecosystem. It is a global technology brand that operates in four major product categories - Smart Entertainment, Smart Home, Smart Care and Accessories. Within a span of just few months it has launched several new products and a couple of accessories - including TWS earbuds, neckband and wired earphones under smart entertainment; smartwatches, hairdryer and beard trimmer under smart care; multi-port mobile charging adapters and 2-in-1 USB cables and features phones; every product having its own uniqueness and very competitive pricing.

Today, for a consumer, there are N number of options provided by so many brands. Aside from the unique offerings that a brand has to offer to stay ahead, the biggest difference between any brand lies in what the brand stands for and the personality that it carries. And DIZO is for the ones who choose to ‘Be different’ and they come with a singular mission to offer a ‘Smart TechLife for Every Different You’.

DIZO as a brand wants to resonate as one which is Different, Genuine, Cool, Humorous and Surprising while focusing on bringing the latest technologies and top quality AIoT lifestyle to its consumers.

They encourage people to try different paths of life, care about overlooked topics and non-mainstream people. And this is possible when you imbibe the right technology which lets you do more. Because DIZO believes technology is an extension of you.

They are not just aimed at the young generation of the world, but also those who’re young at heart. DIZO will be a brand for anyone & everyone, who are interested in tech and are looking for personalized and unique experiences.

DIZO wants people to remember that they do not live for technology, but it is rather the other way round. Technology should make it possible for you to make the most of your life – whether you want to pursue a hobby, make health & fitness a way of life, want to have a smart home or simply help you strike a balance between work and life.

DIZO - Industry

The wearables market is fairly young, but it is moving rapidly to become the next big thing and create ripples in the tech world. The pandemic accelerated the growth of the wearables market by 3-4 years due to the challenges that everyone suddenly faced due to staying at home. From working at home, to working out at home and to being entertained at home TWS & smartwatches have gone on to become an integral part of people’s lives. With people becoming more conscious about their fitness, they got hooked onto wearable devices to monitor their heart rate, sleep, SpO2, step counts, etc. Others needed the earbuds to attend their virtual meetings, classes and even for entertainment purposes, be it playing games or binge-watching.

The level of adoption of smart wearables has been astonishing and as per the IDC report, the Indian wearables market saw 93.8 percent year-on-year growth in July to September 2021. This is proof that consumers seek unique product experiences. These minimalist yet powerful gadgets have become a popular choice for purchase. The innovation in products to enhance customer experience comes to the forefront when they see brands offering premium features on a budget. It feels awe of how evolutionary the smart wearables industry is.

Another reason for this segment to receive this magnitude of attention is the increase in disposable incomes of individuals. Talking specifically for the wearables segment, it’s not just about the price. It’s about what is being provided at the price and at various price points. Consumers today are very intelligent, and they seek value for money and the brand personality, not to forget.

Looking at the trends for 2022, the next five to seven years are likely to see even higher growth for the wearables segment, with consumers getting a hang of the benefits and ease of life due to these wearables. There is a vast opportunity in India - an untapped reservoir and India’s young consumers will be pampered with more and more brands providing smart tech choices as per used cases.

Eventually, the industry will see a trend of smartwatches and earbuds not only being used for their primary usage, but also as a fashion statement. A day will arrive when people will have one or two smartphones but multiple TWS earbuds and smartwatches to mix and match with their look of the day. Thanks to everything, in the next decade or so, the wearables market has the potential to become bigger than smartphones, by volume the least.

Talking about DIZO’s growth, in 2022, they expect the AIoT product's market to grow twice of the current market and with the aim to become one of the fastest growing brands in AIoT products, they have target to grow by 4X of the market rate.

DIZO - Founders and Team

Abhilash Panda

DIZO is a creation of like-minded industry pros who came with the same objective to create a global techlife brand to offer solutions customized to the needs of different personalities. It was not tough for them to join the mission. In India, the team is being spearheaded by Abhilash Panda, as the CEO of the company. Abhilash Panda is responsible for DIZO’s India operations and will also be interacting with the media from time to time as the official spokesperson.

Prior to joining DIZO, he was with Flipkart for close to eight years, and was heading the Mobiles vertical on its platform. His role entailed interacting with many leading mobile brands. Joining DIZO was a natural progression since he always wanted to work for a brand which is young, dynamic and looked at making an actual difference to consumers’ lives. Today’s consumers are modern, aware of their choices and a discerning lot who look for value-for-money solutions. They understand technology and the benefits it brings to their lives. At DIZO it is their mission to make their choices easy and affordable technology more accessible to them.

DIZO India team is a small team for now, but are all experts in their domain, leading various management and operational positions. They have aggressive plans for expansion in India and will be seeking to bring in the best, brightest and young talent that the country can offer.

At DIZO, they ensure that every team member is accessible. This leads to a free flow of communication and easy interaction between departments. DIZO believes in one team-one idea strategy for a holistic brand, employee, and product development. Just as the brand’s wish to resonate with its customer, it has a similar approach towards its employees - different, cool, genuine, humorous and surprising.

Moreover, they have weekly meetings to take stock of work done and brainstorm on new ideas, monthly or quarterly town halls as well as quarterly in-person meetings which are semi-formal. And most definitely, they do not leave a moment of celebration.

DIZO - The Idea and Startup Story

Consumer needs are complex and varied even in the same category of products and if there is one thing that stands out when it comes to marketplace dynamics, it is that consumers relish choices. And they will always be seeking multiple solutions across categories and price-points. They want options not just in the same product categories but also within similar price-points. The whole idea is to provide more and more qualified and trustworthy options to their consumers and let them choose the best that suits their lifestyle, from among the options.

Based on this understanding, like-minded global industry veterans came together to conceptualize and start a revolution in the AIoT space. Came DIZO into picture and it was officially introduced to the world on May 25th, 2021. Identified by realme as an aspiring brand with high potential to become a part of the realme TechLife ecosystem, they became the first brand under realme TechLife ecosystem. The young brand is also supported by realme in 3 key aspects - Industrial Design, Supply Chain and AIoT Experience.

DIZO is present in several countries in Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa, etc. and in India, it is registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA), as a private limited company.

Here in India, DIZO is being run by an Indian team of experts led by Abhilash Panda as CEO of DIZO India. The country is one of the key focus markets for DIZO’s business and remains at the core of all product planning. They have a lot of India-centric innovations coming up in the future.

Talking about the initial response, they had decided to launch products in the Smart Entertainment and Smart Care categories as they saw many people were working from home as well as looking for entertainment avenues right at their homes. Wearables as a category are heating up across markets as more and more people look to have their personal time, pursuing personal interests. Wearables such as TWS earbuds, neckbands, and wireless headphones brought some sense of personal space within crowded spaces, especially in the Indian scheme of things where space is largely a premium. As soon as they launched their first TWS earbuds – DIZO GoPods D and the neckband DIZO Wireless – in July, they almost instantly saw them flying off from the shelves!

Some of the memorable achievements that DIZO could cherish included their entry into the list of top 10 brands by Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in the Flipkart hearables category, which is a first time ever for a new brand in this segment to achieve this within a month’s time and that too with only two products - DIZO GoPods D and DIZO Wireless. Soon after the first sale, the DIZO GoPods D emerged as the highest rated TWS earbuds in the INR 1K-2K category. Same for the DIZO Wireless, as it became a best-seller and the highest-rated neckband in the INR 1K-2K category on Flipkart. Another bestseller - DIZO Buds Z, soon after the first sale, was rated 4.6 by their consumers on Flipkart, which is considered to be really great for any product.

Furthermore, in the smartwatch category, DIZO Watch 2 became everyone’s favourite soon after its sale on Flipkart and also made several records as it sold 15,000 units within 3 minutes of sale, which is the fastest for any wearable category. Another record - it sold 50,000 units in just 15 days from the day of its first sale, which is again the fastest ever by any single model in the category. Yet another record - it sold 100,000 units within just 40 days since its first sale, again the fastest ever by any single model in the smartwatch history in the country.

DIZO - Name, Tagline, and Logo

DIZO had to offer to the market and the many customers, their product line was finalized, and their mission and vision were set in stone. They knew that this was happening for real, but it was missing something! That’s when they had the AHA moment and realised that they hadn’t picked a brand name. So, the first task for the brand’s team was to brainstorm on the name. They wanted to have something that is easy to remember yet difficult to forget.

While a lot of brands look for meaning in the name or come up with acronyms with meanings but for us that was not part of the brief. They let their imaginations run wild and then came the name DIZO as a suggestion among other names. The team loved the quirkiness of the word and they all accepted DIZO as the name for the brand.

Today, the word has value, strength, and a sense of belongingness. It stands for Being Different, Genuine, Humorous, Cool and Surprising. They strive for the same, and that is what they want to pass onto their consumers as well. And like mentioned earlier, with their tagline - ‘Be Different’, DIZO promises to bring ‘Smart Tech Life for Every Different You’.

DIZO - Products and Services

DIZO is a brand aimed not just at the young generation of the world but also those who’re young at heart. It is a brand for everyone and anyone, who is interested in tech and looking for personalized and unique experiences.

Their aim is to always try their best to bring premium products and features to the mass market. They are in the mission of introducing a large portfolio across various product categories such as smart entertainment, smart home, smart care and accessories. Alongside, they want to provide the options to consumers and let them choose what they believe is best suited to their personality and compliment their lifestyles.

They listen to their consumers and want to provide them the best of what their consumers demand. So, they give equal opportunity to their consumers to design watch faces for their product, which are again being promoted by influencers with unique personalities and this is just the beginning. They plan to ask for the colour variants of their choice, before making them and even ask for suggestions in product design and names, etc.

With DIZO’s understanding of market and consumers and realme’s support system, they intend to offer a discerning young generation of tech enthusiasts with differentiated technology that is aligned to their needs, complements their individuality, empowers them, and becomes an extension of their personality.

Popularizing the tech among the masses is a part of their mission and features such as Game Mode, Bass Boost+ algorithm, ENC, Transparency Mode, unique Natural Light Design in the hearables segment, are great examples of the same. In smartwatches, they have launched 1.69-inch - then biggest screen in the 3K segment, biggest AMOLED Display in 4K segment, metal frame and 600-nits high brightness, etc. along with realme Link App and DIZO App customizations. And these features come at very competitive price points as they aim to break the premiumness that is attached to products and offer highest quality products that are pocket friendly.

DIZO - Business Model and Revenue Model

Price is a calculation of the profit and technology cost. Some competition brands are charging a lot of technology cost and also spending a lot of money on celebrity endorsements and other marketing activities, which definitely adds up to the cost for consumers.

The millennials era and now GenZ era has changed the market dynamics. Consumers today want the latest and premium features, at the most competitive price. They also go for the brand personality, rather than the years of existence.

The market, today, confirms that whatsoever, the product has to be great in terms of features and quality, and should be fulfilling consumers needs. If the product is good, consumers are so well-informed that they will do the rest of the work, to tell their friends, family and people around. At DIZO, they want to work towards the word-of-mouth, and their product will do just great by itself. Success of DIZO Watch 2, DIZO Buds Z, DIZO GoPods D and DIZO Wireless are great examples and the reviews and ratings on FK are proof of this theory.

Their mantra is to understand their needs and provide them with the same without compromising on technology and quality. They do not just simply bring down the prices and give all the specs about. They keep a healthy mix of product innovation in any category and at any price point. And a brand they want to resonate with them, listen to them, connect throughout the product journey and give them as many options.

Because, at DIZO they wish to break the price limitation that comes with the premiumness of a product. The aim is to provide solutions that are innovative and trendy, without hurting customers’ pockets.

DIZO - Customer Acquisition

DIZO was not an overnight thought, but relentless backend groundwork, studying consumer buying behaviour and researching about the industry is what took to create DIZO, the sensation it is today. They had begun planning much before the official global launch. DIZO built a huge setup which included utilizing its global connections and resources to ensure quality remains a key priority along with establishing an India specific R&D team and service network.

Since the launch, DIZO has been getting a lot of traction across online platforms, which was their primary motive initially for all the products. They also launched DIZO feature phones in the offline market. They have a strategic and yet robust touchpoint network that they have established to remain close and accessible to their customers. Flipkart is its partner for online sales. In terms of retail presence, as part of their long-term commitment to India, they do have plans for a larger offline presence, and they are already working on it. They have a strong service network across India, DIZO Squad - the community and, their social media to address and answer consumer queries and at the same time, engage with consumers for suggestions and product discussions.

Owing to everything mentioned above, the first 100 customers were easy. Not even 5 months into operations in India, DIZO celebrated securing a strong consumer base of 1 million. They witnessed overwhelming response, love and support from their customers. The products including DIZO Watch 2, DIZO GoPods D, DIZO Wireless and DIZO Buds Z and feature phones flew off the shelves and are now being lapped up by more than a million customers in India alone!

Incidentally, DIZO’s achievements are further validated by one of India’s premier research agencies – Counterpoint Technology Market Research – who in its India TWS Shipments Report for Q3 2021 recognized DIZO as an emerging and fastest-growing brand in India and in their latest Smartwatch Market Report, DIZO was ranked among Top 10 brands in India.

DIZO - Marketing Campaign

DIZO has undertaken several campaigns to engage and interact with its customers and audience over the period of time since its inception. To celebrate the different personalities from multiple walks of life, DIZO launched ‘DIZO Talk’. The idea behind it was to encourage and celebrate the spirit of all the different personalities and support the bold choices taken by them in life. It is an initiative by DIZO that will bring to the fore many personalities from various genres to talk about what they do and how they live, love and pursue their goals. Through this forum, the brand wants to engage the DIZO friends and fans, called as DIZO Squad, to motivate and possibly help them stay focused to follow their passion in life.

DIZO believes in co-prosperity and being a young brand themselves, the brand is working towards encouraging and engaging with unique talents in the country. To this, they introduced the Tutting campaign to announce the launch of the DIZO Watch R & DIZO Buds Z Pro. DIZO had collaborated with India's first tutting dance crew, Tuttix Crew, to create an eye-grabbing experience for its audience. The digital film was released on 5th January 2022 which showcased the Tuttix crew placing both products at the center of their art form.

Furthermore, on Diwali DIZO rolled out a unique Diwali campaign - #ClichedDiwaliAds - on its social media platforms. It captures the true essence of India’s festive mood with a light-hearted take on the most commonly used format of storytelling, and yet integrating its own product in a totally non-cliched manner. The campaign was executed by White Rivers Media.

DIZO - Challenges Faced

The most obvious challenge is of course the pandemic situation. They waited long for everything to get all fine. But, eventually took a decision and launched the brand globally on May 25, 2021. It was a huge decision that could impact the very existence and even growth of the brand, but it stood right decision.

Wearables as a category is hot and with entertainment avenues being cut short in the last few years, more and more people are turning to the connected world for everyday entertainment. Here, the challenge was to offer the product options for them to make the right choice. They are offering them the right tech solutions in the form of range of earbuds – DIZO Buds Z Pro, DIZO Buds Z, DIZO GoPods D, DIZO GoPods and DIZO GoPods Neo; then they have the DIZO Wireless and DIZO Wireless Power, which are neckband earphones. They have also launched the DIZO Watch 2 Sports, DIZO Watch 2, DIZO Watch R, DIZO Watch and DIZO Watch Pro, DIZO Beard Trimmer Plus and the DIZO hair Dryer to complement various aspects of a person’s daily activities at home or at work. They ensured that they come at a price that even people with thin wallets can afford, which means to keep their quality high and prices low.

Having the right mix of online and offline visibility was another challenge, as they are riding on the digital revolution that has technically offset the need to be seen and heard on offline platforms, at least for the near future. But offline is equally important. Therefore, they are focused on their online visibility and so they signed up with Flipkart to make their products accessible to everyone across the country. Having said this, they are appropriately available across key physical retail outlets across the country. So, the omnichannel route has been their choice right from the start.

Another challenge which they had foreseen even before starting off, was after-sales services. They learnt early in their journey that after-sales service is critical for their business. They are serious about it. When they launched they already had 320+ service centers in 310+ cities. Today, they have in place over 490+ service centers in over 450+ cities across the country and this number will expand gradually. Additionally, they are working with the same consumer support agencies that realme and Flipkart work with. They also have DIZO Squad, the community for their consumers, where they can share information, make complaints and suggestions to us.

DIZO - Growth

India is a key strategic market for DIZO and hence, they are looking to be a long term global AIoT brand with a great deal of focus in India. Few years down the line, they are aiming to be the top player in the smartwatches and True Wireless Stereo (TWS) category and becoming one of the top players in AIoT products would be their long-term vision.

Their products are already doing great online on Flipkart, while feature phones are selling good offline along with other products in select retail stores. They are working towards making DIZO available across all nearest retail stores. It is a journey that will take time to realize but in 2022, they surely are going to keep a great focus on this part.

At DIZO, they will continue to focus on understanding their consumers more and more, so that they can provide customized solutions. They will continue to follow a 360-degree approach that places the consumer at the center of universe along with increased focus on engagement with the DIZO Squad for product designs, name suggestions, customization of watch faces and listening to their complaints.

Product wise, they will focus on audio and smartwatches the most, along with other product solutions. In audio, you will see more unique and differentiated solutions with ANC, Big Battery and fast charging capabilities. In smartwatches, there will be more innovations in design, display size, resolution and other functions like calling options. Developing and bettering the DIZO App for more customization and personalization options will be their third major focus.

DIZO - Advisors and Mentors

DIZO is part of the realme TechLife ecosystem and hence shares the same aspirations in terms of R&D focus and manufacturing standards and as mentioned earlier DIZO supported by realme in 3 key aspects - Industrial Design, Supply Chain and AIoT Experience. Having said that, realme also helps us whenever necessary and required by us.

Seeking advisory is not only limited to the Techlife ecosystem, DIZO constantly engages with its DIZO Squad as well as the customers through their numerous customer service offices across India to understand their experience and ask for suggestions. This helps DIZO gauge the interest as well as demand of the customers and helps serve them better. They also connect with their media friends and partners such as Flipkart and offline partners to gather insights into the new developments in the industry.

DIZO - Competitors

Considering the diverse portfolio of products that they have and plan to introduce, they cannot single out a brand or a few brands and call them their competition. In fact, they are not focused on the competition, at least, not for now. Their focus, instead, is more on understanding consumer needs better, analyzing the available options and then committing to providing them with the best solutions. In the process, their focus will be to become their preferred choice, when it comes to consumers choosing AIoT enabled products.

DIZO - Recognition and Achievements

The previous year has been extraordinary for us. One of their best sellers, DIZO Watch 2, saw tremendous support and love from everyone since its launch as it made a record of selling 100,000 units within 40 days of its first sale. This is the fastest ever by any single model in the smartwatch history in the country. Earlier, the same hero smartwatch from DIZO made another record of selling 50,000 units in 15 days from its first sale, which is again the fastest ever by a single model in the category.

DIZO has successfully made it to the top 10 smartwatches brand in India, as per the latest report on India smartwatch shipment by Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Around 80 brands are present in India’s smartwatch market and over 10 brands entered the market in 2021. In such a dynamic and aggressive environment, DIZO in less than a year has managed to win hearts across the country. This also shows that their consumers have entrusted us, and they are able to fulfill the consumer needs.

Additionally, as per Counterpoint Technology Market Research, DIZO is an emerging and the fastest growing brand in Q3 2021 TWS shipment report.

Most recently, the brand had announced that it became 1 million strong in India in terms of customer base. As a new entrant, DIZO managed to clock this rare feat within just 5 months of its launch in May 2021. Additionally, it also surpassed the 100cr revenue mark in India in the same time frame. Launched on May 25 this year, the company presently offers a dozen differentiated products in smartwatches, TWS earbuds, neckband earphones and feature phones, and now mobile accessories for its consumers.

DIZO - Future Plans

They kicked off the new year with the launch of two new products- the latest smartwatch - DIZO Watch R and TWS - DIZO Buds Z Pro. As the first smartwatch sporting a round dial from DIZO’s portfolio of smartwatches, the DIZO Watch R comes equipped with advanced functionalities including an AMOLED display. The DIZO Buds Z Pro on the other hand, flaunts the natural light design, ANC upto 25dB, dual-color charging case, and extended battery life.

Adding to their kitty of products, they launched DIZO Watch 2 Sports recently. It is the successor of their bestselling DIZO Watch 2, and has the biggest display in its price segment, 20% lighter than the former one, multi-sport tracking functionality and more smart features for its consumers. For the fashionistas of today’s era, it comes in six cool and trendy colour options along with 150+ watch faces and personalization options. The fitness enthusiasts can choose their favourite activity from 110+ sports modes, which include standard ones like running, walking, cycling, gymnastics, elliptical, yoga, etc. to even specific ones climbing, hockey, football, horse riding, high/ long jump, several dance forms, Tai Chi, martial arts, trampoline and so much more. Further, it comes with a 1.69-in (4.3 cm) full touchscreen display, 600nits high brightness, 150+ watch faces, multiple health monitoring features, 260mAh battery and 5ATM water resistance.

And for the neckband lovers, they have launched DIZO Wireless Power, which features a unique Power Hive Design and multiple exciting features, the DIZO Wireless Power is sure to offer an engaging and energetic audio experience and at the same time complement your distinct fashion statement. This neckband boasts a 11.2mm Large Driver, Bass Boost+ algorithm, magnetic fast pair technology, dedicated Game Mode, 18 hours of total playback and realme Link App, will be sold on Flipkart in three cool shades of Violet Blue, Hunter Green and Classic Black.

Their focus is on popularizing tech among the masses by bringing the latest premium technologies and top-quality AIoT experience at aggressive price points. They have aggressive plans for expansion in India and there is a huge portfolio of products being planned across varied categories that include smart home, smart entertainment, smart care ,and accessories.

In 2022, they expect the AIoT product's market to grow twice the current market and with the aim to become the fastest growing brand in AIoT products, they will target to grow by 4X of the market rate. In India, they expect to have around 30 products by the end of this year.