The Hindu Business Line : D-Link looks to Indian arm for product support

THE Taipei-headquartered D-Link Corporation is aiming to breach the $1-billion mark, as it is already on course to finish the year with net sales of $970 million with two months to go.

With the company deciding to concentrate on marketing by shifting its base from Taiwan to the US, it is looking to subsidiary companies such as D-Link India Ltd to come good with new products for its US and Europe markets.

"We are a product company, and not a technical company. We need products that the customer accepts, are easy to use and cost effective. Thus, we would look to our ventures like this one in India". "But, it would first need to be proven in India before it can be scaled up globally as has been earlier done by us in China," said Mr Ken Kao, founder Chairman and CEO, D-Link Corporation, who was here on the occasion of the D-Link India's tenth anniversary celebrations.

Currently, D-Link India exports structured cabling products and IP phones to West Asia, Australia and the UK though the volumes are not too high. However, the coming days could see the parent company looking to its Indian subsidiary for VoIP products, IP-PBXs and even IP set top boxes. D-Link Corporation had recently spun off its production facilities into a new company, Alfa Network, while product planning has been located in the US.

The company that specialises in networking, connectivity, and data communications as also wireless products and digital adaptors is looking to countries such as Russia, Brazil, Australia and India for growth as its markets in Europe and China seem to have peaked.

"Right now, there is only Cisco that is in the $1 billion-plus category and we are almost there and it needs only a slight nudge from destinations such as India. The group is keen on the Indian markets as the forthcoming broadband regime in this country will really see the market for many of our digital home products explode," Mr Kao said.

D-Link India, which posted net sales of Rs 218 crore last year, is targeting a turnover of Rs 300 crore in the current fiscal.