Festive Season Drives 45% of Consumer & Gaming Sales: ASUS’ Paramjeet Singh Mehta

As India gears up for its biggest shopping season, tech major ASUS is riding high on momentum. Over the last five years, the company has transformed from a challenger brand into a formidable force in the consumer PC and gaming markets, tripling its share from 6% to 18% and becoming the country’s second-most-preferred brand. Today, ASUS is not only a leader in premium positioning but also a dominant player in gaming laptops, where it recently captured a 30% market share.

From expanding across 4,500 IT hardware stores and 300+ exclusive outlets, including dedicated ROG (Republic of Gamers) stores to experimenting with bold new formats like selling laptops on Swiggy Instamart, ASUS is redefining how tech brands connect with India’s diverse consumers. With nearly half of its annual consumer and gaming sales happening during the festive quarter, the brand is doubling down on innovation, accessibility, and customer engagement this season.

In this conversation, Paramjeet Singh Mehta, Marketing Head Consumer PC & Gaming, Systems Group at ASUS India, takes us through the brand’s journey, its leadership in gaming, Gen Z-focused innovations, and how ASUS is preparing to make this festive season its strongest yet.

I’ll start with the brand's journey so far and the current positioning in the Indian market.

We’ve been the fastest-growing brand in India over the past five years. In this period, our market share has grown 3x from around 6% to 18% making us the second most-preferred brand in the consumer segment as of Q1 last year. This growth isn’t just about market share; we’ve also reached the top tier in average selling price and premium positioning.

We’re also moving to the top position in the gaming portfolio. For example, in June we clocked a 30% market share in the gaming laptops category. Our retail expansion has been significant too: we started with general trade and limited penetration, but today we’re present in 4,500 IT hardware stores across India. Alongside, we’ve built more than 300 exclusive stores including 21 dedicated ROG (Republic of Gamers) stores and hybrid formats that combine ASUS plus gaming devices.

We’ve also scaled in organised trade through partnerships with Reliance and Croma, where we’re the number one gaming brand. Regionally, we’re present in chains such as Bajaj Electronics and Lulu, and we were among the first to move aggressively into retail distribution. On the e-commerce side, we entered Flipkart and Amazon early (2019, pre-COVID), which positioned us strongly by 2022.

Most recently, we became the first PC brand to partner with Swiggy Instamart. We were curious how this experiment would work, and in August we even saw gaming laptops being sold via Swiggy’s platform.

It’s been a great journey so far, with strong consumer and partner connect. And I’m confident this momentum will continue.

You mentioned gaming which has been a major growth driver globally and in India for you. How do you see the Indian gaming ecosystem evolving, and what role will Republic of Gamers play in shaping it?

Gaming as a lifestyle arrived in India later than in other developing nations, but in the last five years we’ve seen a 10x growth in PC gamers here. Today, India’s gaming TAM (total addressable market) is valued at around $1.1 billion.

Globally, there are more than 5 billion connected people, of which 50% are aware of eSports. In India, digital connectivity is massive (500+ million users), but eSports awareness is still under 50%. Mobile and casual gaming, however, are far ahead, with ~250 million active users. The local ecosystem is also expanding rapidly. We now have 18+ game development studios in India, streamers breaking world records, professional casters, agencies, and a thriving casual-to-pro gamer base.

Our role is to support this ecosystem. We’ve launched multiple programs to enable growth, including ROG Academy, our incubation platform where we select six players out of 2,000+ applicants and train them for six months with expert guidance. While we are a hardware company, we partner with eSports professionals to build complete skill-development programs.

We also run ROG Showdown, a nationwide series of gaming events, and support streamers, casters, and developers. Essentially, we’re investing in every layer of the Indian gaming ecosystem from grassroots to pro.

How is ASUS innovating to meet the diverse needs of Indian consumers: students, creators, professionals, and gamers?

This has been a key driver of our success. Let me give you an example:

We introduced TUF Gaming as a sub-segment, designing devices that are military-grade certified to withstand India’s challenging conditions (dust, moisture, etc.). These laptops, priced INR 50,000 to INR 80,000, allow students to game, create, and study on the same machine. The customisation worked brilliantly, and TUF became a huge success.

Going forward, we’re focusing on three key areas:

Students: Reliability and performance are critical, since their devices must last through a 3–4-year program. Our Vivobook range is tailored to this, with strong R&D efforts on durability for Indian conditions.

Creators: India is already a hub for 3D animation, VFX, and design outsourcing. For creators, we build laptops with superior colour grading, accelerated app performance (e.g., Adobe Suite), and mobility enabling desktop-class performance on laptops. Our ProArt series and Vivobook Pro cater to this, where we already command >50% market share.

Form Factors & Aesthetics: Gen Z and late millennials demand fresh designs. We’ve introduced dual screens, convertibles, detachable devices, and trendy pastel colours. For example, our recently launched Vivobook S in Salvia Green has been very well received.

AI Enablement: With India’s large base of software engineers, AI PCs are the future. We’re working with silicon partners and our global R&D team of 6,000 engineers to develop AI-capable devices and new form factors.

Beyond consumer products, what opportunities do you see in B2B and commercial PCs, and how is ASUS planning to capture this market?

I can share that we’ve recently entered this space in India and are seeing good traction. We’ve built teams, distribution, and VAR (value-added reseller) networks to serve enterprises of all sizes. The commercial market in India is as large as the consumer market (around 6 million units annually). As India continues to grow as one of the world’s largest consumption markets, we expect the B2B segment to scale significantly.

Localisation is becoming increasingly important for global tech brands. How is ASUS customising its products, pricing, and after-sales services for Indian consumers?

India recently became the world’s third-largest PC market, so localisation is critical.

First, let’s talk about demographics. According to BCG, Gen Z already drives ~23% of purchases in India, and this will rise to ~53% by 2030 and ~93% by 2035. Their expectations are clear:

1. Sustainable products.

2. Variety in colours and form factors.

3. Flexible financing (e.g., no-cost EMI).

We’ve responded with initiatives like Assured Buyback: an industry-first in PCs where customers can upgrade after 90 days and get ~45% of the invoice value back.

On after-sales, we shifted early to on-site service. Today, 57% of our customers use this. Engineers visit the customer, repair on-site if possible, or carry the device back for service. This saves Gen Z customers time and effort.

We also design with reliability in mind, analysing recurring repair issues (ports, displays, keyboards) and proactively improving future devices. As a result, we’ve significantly reduced service cases in recent years.

What trends are you seeing in consumer buying behaviour in India?

Two clear trends stand out:

Rising PC adoption - aligned with the government’s “Digital India” vision.

Touch-and-feel remains critical - even online buyers want to physically experience devices before purchasing.

That’s why we now have 9,000+ live demo units across India for customers to try before they buy, regardless of whether the final purchase happens in-store or online.

We’re also seeing customers prioritise performance and reliability, with increasing awareness of specifications (e.g., creators asking for specific GPUs). This shows maturity in buying behaviour.

You mentioned Gen Z multiple times. Is that your primary target audience?

Gen Z is a major focus, and for good reason. Research shows over 55% of Gen Z prefer ASUS as a brand, and Flipkart/Amazon data confirms that 70%+ of their Gen Z buyers choose us.

Why? Because we bring cutting-edge technology quickly to India, offer diverse form factors, and cater to multiple use cases.

That said, we’re strong among millennials too, thanks to their purchasing power. For example, we lead in premium segments across gaming, creator, and non-gaming categories, holding 50%+ market share in creator devices.

Given Gen Z will account for 93% of purchases by 2035, adapting early is critical. Today we’re a strong number two brands in India, and within the next 2–3 years, we aim to become a strong number one.

For Gen Z, sustainability is crucial. How is ASUS embedding sustainability into its India operations across products, supply chain, or services?

Globally, ASUS is recognised as one of Fortune 500’s most admired companies, partly because of our transparency and sustainability focus. In the last 2–3 years, we’ve accelerated this journey.

Materials: We’ve developed an innovative ceramic-aluminium alloy that is fully recyclable.

Plastics: We’ve used 1,500 tons of PCR (post-consumer recycled) plastics in production.

E-waste: We’ve collected and recycled more than 40,000 tons globally.

In India, we’ve launched two major initiatives:

Discard Responsibly — educating customers about safe e-waste disposal.

Refurbishment Program — giving returned products a second life.

These are just the beginning. Sustainability is embedded across our product design, supply chain, and after-sales strategy.

India being a mix of online and offline driven markets, what is your company’s retail and distribution strategy for reaching both metro and Tier-II and III markets?

Currently, metros are well covered through our exclusive stores, organised retail, and e-commerce channels. Interestingly, what we have also witnessed is a growing demand from Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Coimbatore and Dehradun are among the fastest-growing cities in terms of laptop adoption and requirements, and even smaller Tier-III towns are witnessing a surge in demand.

We are privy to these trends and our strategy to build into the larger India is making a top choice owing to our efforts to get closer to the customers. Aligned with this, we aim to reach nearly 700 districts, and we’re also working at the taluka level, ensuring that we reach each talukas with at least one partner. The current focus is to go deeper into Tier-II and Tier-III markets through retail stores.

At the same time, organised retail and e-commerce players are also expanding rapidly in these locations. We are working closely with partners like Reliance and Croma, who are now opening stores primarily in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. We are aligned with them to provide demonstrations, and customer offers tailored for these markets as well.

What kind of festive preparedness in terms of product design or marketing campaign or supply chain or inventory is going on at ASUS? If you could highlight a few points here.

Around 45% of sales in the consumer and gaming category happen during the festive season. From a supply chain perspective, we prepare accordingly, ensuring we can cater across different form factors, categories, and channels. As I mentioned earlier, we are present across all major platforms, organised retail, e-commerce, and general trade. This year’s festive cycle kicked off with >25% YoY growth in July–August, highlighting a stronger-than-expected consumer sentiment. Online channels started early, contributing ~33% during the peak week, but large format retail (LFR) followed with major traction contributing ~30% in a single week. 

This year, we’re taking a multi-pronged approach, doubling down on consumer insights to sharpen our product positioning, enhancing accessibility across retail, digital, and even quick commerce channels, and diversifying our promotional strategies across price segments. In terms of product and sales strategy, ASUS launched exclusive models in June and July, backed with discounts across both consumer and gaming portfolios. This enabled us to capture 20% of overall laptop sales in India on e-commerce platforms during Prime Day and GOAT sale events in July. Similarly, we extended comparable offers in offline channels, including ASUS Exclusive Stores, organised retail chains like Reliance Digital, Vijay Sales, and Croma, so that customers had the flexibility to purchase from the channel they trust most. These learnings have been crucial in shaping our festive readiness. This year’s festive cycle kicked off with >25% YoY growth in July–August, highlighting a stronger-than-expected consumer sentiment. Online channels started early, contributing ~33% during the peak week, but large format retail (LFR) followed with major traction contributing ~30% in a single week. 

Offline retail continues to be a cornerstone of our festive strategy, particularly in India where in-store interactions and hands-on trials strongly shape purchase decisions. Our LFR partners and ASUS Exclusive Stores serve a dual purpose, acting as high-impact visibility zones as well as trusted destinations for purchase.

With 300+ Exclusive Stores and over 4,500 brick-and-mortar touchpoints, our retail presence ensures that consumers, especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, can experience our products firsthand. For our gaming portfolio, we run an initiative called ROG Verse in ROG Stores, where customers can book a slot to experience the latest ROG laptops and play games at no cost. Through such initiatives, our goal is to deepen customer engagement, simplify their purchase journey, and give them compelling reasons to connect with ASUS through both our own stores and our retail partners.