MSI plans big for Bangladesh

Victor Yeh

Micro Star INT'L CO. LTD or popularly known as MSI, is not just a brand rather it has become part of the lifestyle amongst the gaming community of Bangladesh. Slowly and steady MSI now is bringing in its low to high end products in the country. Michael Liang, Section Manager & Victor Yeh, Account Manager of MSI explained their plans for Bangladeshi market to Shahriar Rahman from BYTES.

Shahriar: Firstly, what sort of products currently you are bringing in Bangladesh?
Michael:  We have quite a few ranges of products in Bangladesh. We divide our products in two groups: AMD & Intel. In both groups we bring motherboards, Graphics cards and laptops.  Mostly we are focusing on motherboards and graphics cards of mid and high end.
Shahriar: MSI products are in the country for quite a while. How is the response so far?
Michael: So far we received an overwhelming reception in Bangladesh. Since our inception we were one of the most demanded brands in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is actually highly potent in terms of pc based gaming equipments. So we have high hopes for this market.
 

Michael Liang

Shahriar: How much popular is AMD based accessories in Bangladesh?
Michael: Honestly, the market of AMD in Bangladesh is huge. In fact bigger than what we expected to be. We are constantly getting request of AMD based motherboards and laptops from various consumer segments. Also we have brilliant partners here, who are doing a really good job in pushing the AMD products to the market.
Shahriar: What are the new gaming motherboards you are shipping in?
Victor: We have several new motherboards that we have in the pipeline. MSI Military class 4 Motherboard- Z87 & Z97. Gamers have to try these out for the most immersive gaming experience. With the focus on Speed, Sound and Stability, MSI GAMING provides every essential component of a true gaming system and then some! Audio Boost 2 powered by Creative Sound Blaster Cinema2 and USB Audio Power give your ears the detailed and richness in sound they need. To top this off, every MSI Z97 motherboard comes with an XSplit Gamecaster premium license to kickstart your own online streaming of gameplay for both young and aspiring, and seasoned gamers.

Shahriar: Seems really exciting. But MSI Gaming motherboards are not publicized/advertised enough as the competitors are doing. Why is that? And what is your long term plan with MSI in Bangladesh.
Michael: You are 100 percent correct. We, unlike our competitors, used to focus on the niche market. But we are changing our approaches day by day. We now have a very aggressive mindset for the emerging markets like Bangladesh. We have now planned various promotion activities that are going to embolden our presence in Bangladesh. We will be arranging campus based promotional activities. We also plan to arrange gaming contest with pc's powered by MSI hardware. And we intend to bring regional activities to enlighten the divisional cities of Bangladesh.
Shahriar: MSI products are in the country for quite a while. How is the response so far?
Michael: Well we received very good market response considering the time we entered the market. Bangladesh is potential for gaming market having a large pool of youth and IT professionals. We stat our journey in the year of 2013 and considering the time response is impressive.
Shahriar: How competitive is the market now, particularly the segments which MSI is now targeting?
Victor: To be frank the competition is really intense. But MSI has a long tradition to strive in competition so we encourage it. Moreover the brand image that MSI portrays in worldwide is a bit different than our competitors. So you can't exactly compare us with it in terms of the sales volume. But in terms of product valuation and technology we are confident, we are doing much better than our competitors.
Shahriar: After-sales service is a big issue in Bangladesh. How is MSI dealing that?
Michael: We at MSI put utmost importance on after-sales service. We already have trained our local partners regularly. Moreover we have introduced a service point in Dhanmondi to ensure round-the-clock service.
Shahriar: Thank you very much for the interview. Have a great trip!
Michael & Victor: You're most welcome!