A deep dive into Cybeart's journey to partner with giants of IPL - Founder and CEO, Krutik Patel
Cybeart, one of the largest brands of gaming chairs, signed a multi-year agreement to become the official merchandise partner of Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans.
The company announced its entry into India in style, partnering with two of the best IPL teams. The collaboration shows us how not only esports, but also esports merchandise is going to be a huge market in India.
Cybeart aims to provide India with never-before-experienced luxury chair products. They desire to provide not just luxury gaming chairs, but models that are suitable for corporate as well as household purposes.
In an exclusive conversation with Krish Dalal of Sportskeeda's Business of Sports, the founder and CEO of Cybeart, Krutik Patel, discussed various aspects of the esports merchandise Industry, the partnership with IPL teams, and much more.
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Excerpts: Founder and CEO of Cybeart, Krutik Patel in conversation with Sportskeeda
Q. Firstly, before we discuss strategy and sponsorship, can you talk about the early life of Cybeart. What was that like?
Krutik Patel: I went to Canada for my studies, and after three years of studies and one year of work I started Cybeart. Initially, I wanted to start with computer accessories such as keyboards, mouse, mouse pads etc. and infusing licensing as well in these categories.
On a Friday night, I emailed Warner Brothers, Disney, and a few other licensors. On Monday morning, I received an email from Warner Brothers saying that they wanted to talk, so I felt that everything was falling into place and it was a sign to start.
I had a meeting with them, they liked the project, they liked the kind of products I wanted to make, and we started to work on it. I came to India to source the materials and manufacturers; but COVID-19 hit at the same time, so I went back to Canada.
Cybeart teams up with Warner Bros. to launch “The Batman” gaming chair and accessories dlvr.it/SGlRfp https://t.co/dCDOpiLYIY
Based on that, I was seeing some trends on what products will be in demand. So, gaming chairs were not part of the initial plan, it was after six months or a year. However, it was all about adapting to the market needs then. Chairs were in great demand due to work-from-home culture.
It took roughly 10 months to do the R&D, build the product and bring it to Canada. We launched the gaming chairs to the public in October 2020. We also launched mouse pads and phone cases at that time as part of the accessories that we promised to Warner Brothers. In October, we launched the world's first DC Comics Chairs Collection.
Q. Do you just want to market Cybeart as gaming chairs?
Krutik Patel: So first thing before we launched to India, I gave one statement to my team that, "We are not marketing this product as a gaming chair." So if you see our website or any of our messaging, a gaming chair is never mentioned. Our focus is going to be positioning the brand as India’s first premium ergonomic chair brand.
Because in India, the gaming chair will be termed as, "If I donʼt game, why should I buy these chairs." These have been called gaming chairs for a decade, so we are trying to break these stereotypes. As compared to all these mesh office chairs, our types of chairs are quite ergonomic and offer far better features.
Esports is in a very nascent stage right now in India and the majority of the age group is 13 to 17 followed by 18 to 24. This age group may or may not come with the purchasing power to buy the product at our price range, so for this we had to change our marketing strategy.
We were already using these licences such as Warner Brothers to diversify from just gaming. However, I told my team that there was one thing that unifies all of India together, and that's cricket. It doesnʼt have any age group, from kids to the elderly, everybody is a fan of it, and we've grown up playing Cricket. So cricket was something that I wanted to do from the very start.
Our products came to India in December. We thought of dropping the IPL project altogether as the time period was very short for us. However, opportunities came forward from the IPL team licensors and I couldn’t say no. It was a huge challenge to design the product, and get it manufactured within a very short time. What normally takes us 4 months, we pulled off in 45 days including production. We received a great response from the audience and now we are trying to tap into a newer set of audiences apart from esports and gaming. These partnerships help us serve the narrative of Cybeart not being just a gaming chair brand but beyond that.
Q. What was your sponsorship activation strategy with Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans?
Krutik Patel: If you see all the international football clubs, the majority of their revenue is coming from product licensing; itʼs not the same case for India. In India, only apparel, accessories, caps etc. are being sold, and a lot of them are counterfeit. There is nothing in the premium or unique product category. So that is where we are also bringing a change.
Cybeart as a gaming chair brand diversifies the team’s portfolio of licensing and offers the fans with new young-age products. Also, there is no counterfeit in this category.
It actually drives the brand's value upwards for both teams and Cybeart and helps build up the fandom. That was a win-win situation for both of us and how it came forward.
One of the biggest partnerships for us of all time and our first step to diversifying our portfolio from esports to Sports. This is the first time a chair brand has collaborated with any Cricket team. One more addition to World's First collection - @gujarat_titans . twitter.com/Cybeart_IN/sta…
Q. We are seeing many partnerships between esports and sports. Does Cybeart plan to enter more sports or do you plan to stick to cricket and get a huge market share from cricket itself in India?
Krutik Patel: We believe innovation is the key for Cybeart. We are never stuck to one thing but leap into one thing from another. So cricket is just the start for us, we might be venturing into new sports soon.
Cricket was a pilot project for us for which we have received a great response. Cybeart is a lifestyle brand, that is how we will be building it in near future. Gaming chairs will always be known as the product that we launched for the first time as a flagship product, but ultimately chose to diversify the portfolio into multiple product categories.
Announced official gaming chair by CYBEART #TheBatman
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So we are working on building Cybeart as a lifestyle brand and that is how we are introducing everything. It's a mixture of pop culture, Sports etc. We are merging fandoms of IPs such as DC Comics, Harry Potter, Cricket, etc. into our products. We will also be introducing some new genres of licensing very soon including sports.
Q. Cybeart is a luxury chair brand and not many people in India would have the means to buy the luxury brands. So do you still want to go with Cybeart being labeled a luxury brand and target those set of market consumers.
Or in future, as you said Cybeart is always open to innovation to you, do you feel that you want a product that will actually cater to the whole of India and actually make a huge change in the esports industry. Do you plan on any of that?
Krutik Patel: Yes definitely. So before entering India, Cybeart was already established in a few different countries and we are known as a luxury brand over there. Our product is premium and our price point for India may be considered premium as well. However, considering the kind of product we are offering, it is quite economical.
So for penetration into the Indian market, during this early stage, our prices are less. Ultimately, we will be increasing the prices of our current products. Brands bet on the Indian population, but often forget that India is an economic market. So we plan to introduce a few different models of chair, which are prized economically as well.
But Cybeart is a brand of the future with futuristic and young age values. So, even though the price will be economical, the product will not be cheap. It will be a futuristic product with good features and will set itself apart from local competitors in its segment.
Upgraded my “gaming pad” to this beautiful #TheBatman one from @CybeartInc. Keyboard approves.
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Apex Series Chairs is our launch product and one of the most premium offerings that we have right now. We had the first entrance into premium ergonomics chairs in India. This is a very wide gap in India that even if someone wants to buy a good chair they cannot.
There is not a single chair brand that is offering premium chairs in India, so thatʼs where we are filling in. The kind of color range we have, some special editions, licensed productions, no one in India does that, we are the only ones to do that.
Innovation is our key, so we will definitely do something in a very cost-effective manner also. We are trying to bring a change here and will adapt to the Indian market needs as we grow.
Q. Is India going to have a boom in the esports Industry in the next 5 years?
Krutik Patel: Yeah, most definitely. India is developing very fast in the esport sector. Based on recent figures, India literally accounts for 50% of the global gaming population. The Indian gamer population is supposed to grow 30% by 2025 as we adapt to gaming culture.
Most of these gamers are mobile gamers currently. I want to make a difference in PC gaming as well. So ultimately as a brand, I want to bring some economical gaming components which are made in India. Right now, for example, the PC I made in Canada would cost me twice as much in India, and that is why PC gaming is not at its height in India.
Gaming future is definitely there in India. Due to the affordability factor, even though Esports does not give us intended ROI right now, we still want to be at the forefront of this change. It will provide us the ROI later on.
Cybeart, one of the leading Gaming Merchandise companies, has joined Revenant Esports as its Official Gaming Chair partner for the upcoming season. https://t.co/bC79p0T0ou
We have sponsored the prominent esports teams in India and are going to be working with a lot of new esports organizations very soon. We do sponsor many gaming tournaments as well in India where our products are seen being used by pro-gamers. Hence, we are raising brand awareness, nurturing this current audience to buy our products in the future. Esports has a really bright future ahead.
Note: This article has been lightly edited for improved readability.