“Client must get the know-how of LED products to make informed decisions”

How do you see the market in India for LED displays, especially in the outdoor segment? Any trends you can share ?

There has been an increase in the amount of enquiries for outdoor LED displays and we have installed quite a few lately. There are a lot of new trends evolving in the Indian market. The number of retail chain stores using LED displays for advertising their in-store products has also increased of late. With outdoor permission for LED billboards opening up in Mumbai, we will definitely see more LED displays in the DOOH segment. We are also installing screens in stadiums for sports. We have installed India's first giant outdoor LED screen this year, that is more than 4000sq.ft, which was not a possibility a couple of years ago. With the recent pandemic situation a lot of call centres and software companies are also using large format LED screens for zoom calls, etc.

Very often one finds a lot of price variation in the market when it comes to LED displays. Why is this so?

The price variation is directly related to quality. Unfortunately 80% of the Indian market is very price conscious and not quality conscious when it comes to LED displays. We get a lot of enquiries asking for cheaper cost models but the client does not understand that the cost of ownership is very high for LED screens. For this reason you will see many people who have invested in LED display screens in India have lost interest in the product as it becomes too expensive to maintain and service. Another reason is that most clients do not know how to check, if what they are buying is what they are getting, so they do not want to risk with an expensive model unless they see a reliable or good brand in LED display.

There are too many components such as LED wafer size, PCB quality, driver IC type, LED brightness, the LED brand, all of which contribute to the cost of the product. If the client has to make an informed decision, they must get the know-how of the product, so they can compare vendor quotes apple to apple. A general 5-8% difference between one vendor and another is normal, but if it’s more than that, there are definitely specs that are no longer same. Most vendors do not disclose the LED type, driver IC model, scan type, color gamut etc., so that they can play around with these components to make better margins or reduce quality based on the price that is offered by the buyer. It’s very important to choose a company that has good references of quality with screens running at least 2-3 years or above in the market. 

Any specific expectations or objectives you have with regard to the OOH Expo to be held in Mumbai in March where you will be exhibiting your products?

Our main idea is to educate buyers on the know-how of the product and showcase some unique projects we have delivered this year. We are hoping that we bring awareness so that all buyers make an informed and learned decision when buying LED screens. We want the market in India to evolve to its full potential. We are far behind in the usage of DOOH LED screens in comparison to even smaller countries like Thailand or Philippines or Malaysia. We want to motivate and co-operate with OOH companies to help them integrate into DOOH which has much better impact and revenue than a static billboard.

Read the full interview in the January edition of Outdoor Asia