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A Talk with Vishnu Malikireddy, Founder & CEO of Hogar Controls

Vishnu-MalikireddyHogar Controls is a global IoT company with a design-first approach delivering powerful solutions for Smart Cities, Communities, Buildings, Hospitality, Commercial, Living, and Working Spaces. In 2018, it combines cutting-edge technology and designs thinking to offer homeowners, retailers, and professional integrators a range of products that are innovative, intuitive and stylish. Hogar offerings are designed as plug-and-play solutions that provide user-friendly control and can be customized to fit the needs of your home, office or hotel like a glove. During an interaction with Nitisha; Vishnu Malikireddy, Founder & CEO, Hogar Controls elaborates on home automation and its growth in the coming time.

Kindly talk about the growth story of Hogar Controls and its special offerings.

Founded by myself (Vishnu Vardhan Malikireddy) in Virginia, US, Hogar Controls has gradually grown into a renowned automation company that specializes in home IoT devices. Since our inception in 2015, we have worked together with a single-minded focus to revolutionize the automation landscape of the world. Our success as a fast-growing brand in multiple smart device segments is due to the exceptional talent of our highly skilled and creative engineers, carefully selected from both the USA and India over the years.

Hogar Controls crafts a wide variety of innovative, intuitive, and stylish products for homeowners, retailers, and professional integrators. We combine modern technology with design thinking to stay at the forefront of technological development. Our automated solutions are perfect for any number of settings, including smart cities, communities, hospitality, commercial, residential, and working spaces.

In the last five years, we have executed more than 5000+ projects in India and the customer satisfaction level is phenomenal, to say the least. We are currently the only brand in the country offering a completely wireless product portfolio of smart home solutions that adhere to Z-Wave, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity protocols.

What would you say about R&D Center and Manufacturing facility?

In 2019, we have established a 10,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Uppal, Hyderabad. It boasts state-of-the-art electronic manufacturing equipment and registers an annual production capacity of more than 6,00,000 units. We are also setting up a large (1 lakh sq ft) integrated facility in Raidurg for R&D, testing, and assembly.

Our R&D efforts are focused on creating products that are not only innovative, resourceful, and cutting-edge, but also user-friendly and cater to the customers’ needs. This process involves extensive research, prototyping, and testing to ensure that our devices meet the highest standards of quality and functionality.

Recently, at ABID Interiors 2023 Expo in Kolkata, our all-new range of Smart Touch Panels, World-class Controllers, Digital Door Locks, and Smart Curtain Motors have grabbed the eyeballs of many including exhibitors and industry experts. From our luxurious range for the HNI community to our affordable mid-range devices and our retrofit line that provides a convenient and hassle-free installation process, we accommodate a comprehensive collection of home IoT products to meet the requirements of every consumer.

Kindly throw some light on the current dynamics & growth prospects in the home automation industry.

In my opinion, the home automation industry has made significant progress in the past few years as more and more consumers are looking forward to personalizing their living spaces with home IoT devices. Although comfort, convenience, and lifestyle quality can be termed as the driving factors, the increase in the millennial population investing in homeownership combined with the rising disposable income of citizens in developed countries is playing a primary role.

In 2020, the global home automation market size was estimated to be worth USD 40.8 billion and by 2025, it is projected to surpass USD 63.2 billion at a CAGR of 9.1%. India, despite having a relatively low number of smart homes at 13 million, is experiencing an upsurge in the market for home IoT.

What are your plans for Hogar Control’s Presence in Tier II & Tier III cities?

The notion that only the affluent-class urban population of India was drawn to the convenience and opulence of smart homes is long gone. In recent years, people from tier II and tier III cities have become increasingly interested in the safety benefits of IoT and smart homes. Concerns about gas leaks, fire and smoke, and intruders have been pushing them to prepare for unexpected mishaps.

One of our patrons, a family residing in a tier 2 city, had installed a gas sensor in their kitchen as part of their smart home setup. They were aware of the inadvertent gas leaks and wanted to take preventative measures. While the family was out one night, the gas cylinder started leaking, but they were unaware of it.

Fortunately, the gas sensor immediately picked up on the gas leak and sent a notification to their mobile phones, which were connected to the device via an app. The family members were able to receive the notification and take immediate action to stop the leak before any damage could occur. Grasping the consequences, they subsequently installed additional devices like smoke detectors, smart locks, and security cameras to further boost their home security.

Understanding scenarios like these, Hogar Controls has plans to offer cost-effective smart home products in tier II and tier III cities, and the focus will be on potential areas such as smart energy management, home security and surveillance, smart home appliances, water management, and home healthcare.

Kindly talk about your current employee base.

While our 10,000 sq ft manufacturing establishment in Uppal employs close to 150 personnel, the yet-to-be-inaugurated integrated facility (1 lakh sq ft) in Raidurg for R&D, testing, and assembly will generate close to 100 direct jobs across functions.

Kindly elaborate on the product portfolio of Hogar Controls

The product portfolio of Hogar Controls includes Wi-Fi-enabled smart touch panels, smart controllers, video doorbells, digital door locks, curtain motors, smart home hubs, security cameras, retrofit series for smart lighting, etc. In terms of models, there are multiple options for each product category to cater to the diverse preferences and requirements of consumers. These devices are built with cutting-edge technology that includes advanced features such as voice control, facial recognition, mobile app-based remote access, machine learning, and real-time alerts. Additionally, all our products are compatible with popular smart home ecosystems, such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit.

Kindly share your future marketing strategies.

Being an established brand in the home IoT landscape, we have recognized the growing significance of retrofit homes, and we anticipate them to be equally popular as greenfield projects in the near future. Hence, we have made it effortless for homeowners to convert their ordinary homes into smart homes by ensuring that all our products are cent percent retrofitted and wireless, requiring no physical modifications.

For instance, a family is residing in their old ancestral home with no pre-existing wiring for smart home devices. While they were mighty interested to upgrade their living space, the cost and the effort involved to rewire their entire home made them hesitant. Luckily, they approached us and were pleased to discover that all our products were wireless and required no physical mutations. They installed a range of our devices, which included smart locks, security cameras, and smart lighting, and the process was quick and straightforward, as we promised.

In another instance, a young couple who had recently moved into their new flat were eager to avail the benefits of smart home devices but were concerned at the same time about the complexity of installation and the potential damage to their home. However, after seeing the demos and knowing that all our products are retrofit and wireless, they installed smart thermostats, smart plugs, and smart speakers in their living space and were able to control all of them through a single app.

Our future marketing strategies shall focus on leveraging digital channels and expanding our online presence, laying emphasis on customer education, showcasing and demonstrating our devices in industry-related trade shows and events, and using data and technology to enhance our marketing efforts. In the medium term, we have plans for several new inclusions to our product line and will also focus on advanced security features, integration with more third-party devices and services, personalized and intelligent features, and improvement of our existing products based on users’ feedback and market trends.

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Nitisha Dubey

I am a Journalist with a post graduate degree in Journalism & Mass Communication. I love reading non-fiction books, exploring different destinations and varieties of cuisines. Biographies and historical movies are few favourites.

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