Interviu

 
Fiind pentru prima oara cand se organizeaza Computex-ul in mod fizic dupa 4 ani de absenta, am profitat de ocazie pentru a sta de vorba cu o serie de oameni cu adevarat pasionati din industrie, la care cititorii nu au de obicei acces. Unul dintre cei care ne-au raspuns la intrebari a fost Andrei Lyamin, CEO al indragitei companii de periferice Sharkoon, alaturi de care am purtat o discutie legata de noile serii de produse, precum si de planurile acestora pentru viitor. Desi a fost publicat la mai bine de 4 luni de la terminarea targului din Taipei (din motive ce nu au tinut de noi), cu acest interviu incheiem seria de interviuri Computex 2023.

1 – Hi Andrei, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. First, I think congratulations are in order. You guys are celebrating your 20th anniversary this year so how does it feel to be in this business for such a long time?

Thank you. Well, it’s been an exciting journey so far. I’m looking forward to continuing our work and release some awesome products in the coming years. Time flies when you enjoy the work.

2 – This anniversary also finds you in a different position inside the company. I know that you handled a lot of stuff before, and you were involved in the development of many products, so can you tell us what can we expect from now on?

For media and our partners nothing is going to change. I’m still involved in product development and spend a lot of time together with our product managers to create great products. We are already working on our Computex 2024 line up. I do have a clear vision of our position in the market and have a great team around me to make it happen.

3 – What inspired you to build products for PC enthusiasts and gamers in the first place?

On the one hand, an option to create something of one’s own, and on other hand, seeing a demand for a specific product and not being satisfied with the available choice. I’ve built a lot of systems over the years, and really use many of our products daily. For example, the SGK50 series was born because I needed a lot of keyboards just to test various switch variants. Thanks to the hot-swap PCB it is way easier to test the switches and save some space on the desk. And because I’m a low-sens player I find the 60% layout very interesting.

4 – After 20 years in the business and after the pandemic years, how do you see the business now? What are the challenges now, compared to when you started?

Demand has gone back to normal very fast, and in some categories, it has even more or less disappeared. What it will look like in the future really depends on companies like Intel, Nvidia & AMD on the one hand and, of course, on game and software developers on the other hand. The biggest challenge is that you must adjust the portfolio way faster compared to the decades before. We are ready for that and working on our 2024 portfolio.

5 – Do you think there is still room for an exponential growth in this market segment?

I don’t think that exponential growth is the right term. The IT Market has its limitations. Depending on the region, there is definitely room to grow. Part of this growth is based on taking over some share of the market. As you know, a lot of brands have disappeared over the years, but thanks to our constant efforts, we have built a good reputation in the market and are looking forward to continuing into the future.

6 – We saw a lot on new products announced at Computex, many of them already launched on the market. What are Sharkoon’s hero products of 2023 in your opinion?

For cases, it’s our Rebel C50 Series, with a great airflow and plenty of space for cable management. For chairs, it will be the OfficePal C30 product, which enables us to enter the B2B Market of ergonomic chairs and has performed very well so far. For keyboards, it will be the SGK50 S3. We spent a lot of time to create a premium typing experience without a premium price tag. We going to launch it in November.

7 – You are very well known for cases, peripherals, PSU, gaming chairs and recently added AIOs to your line-up – do you have any plans to expand into other areas also?

Yes, that can happen, but it will not happen overnight. I do have some ideas which I would like to implement in the future. We are also going to expand some of the current categories as well.

8 – What sets Sharkoon apart from other gaming hardware manufacturers?

Passion for the products and the vision to stay at a reasonable price level. In a time when everything is getting more and more expensive, our price-value concept has become even more important. We do go an extra mile during every project to find and provide additional value without raising the prices sky high. We design our products in Germany and are very precise with the details — because sometimes even very small things can make a big difference.

9 – Will we see any surprises from you in the future? I’m referring of course to new products but also to new projects or maybe new directions in which you want to steer the company?

Well, stay tuned. We are working on some exciting projects, but it’s too early to talk about them now.

10 – Thank you very much for your time!

Thank you.