2023-07-21 17:52:00
Force One is a Brazilian brand that started operations regarding two years ago, focusing on gaming chairs. At the end of 2021, it expanded the business to the peripherals area – TudoCelular even analyzed some of them. Now, the company intends to further expand its operations, with more products and new business fronts.
And to understand a little of the history and what the company’s plans are, TudoCelular talks with the founder and director of Force One, João Paulo Martins. He worked for almost 23 years as a representative of Razer in the country and, since leaving the company, he faces the challenges of consolidating his new brand.
Tech
May 24
Accessories
20 Dez
He tells more regarding the new steps for the second half. Among them is a new line of peripherals positioned in the most advanced category, including mice with new technologies and a new keyboard. In addition, he highlighted what brings the Cosmos line, launched in May this year.
Martins details the launch of a concept store on the main street of Santos, on the coast of São Paulo, where he intends to bring new experiences to the public. He also talks regarding expectations for BGS, where he will have a stand to present his products. Check out the full interview below and take the opportunity to comment what you think in the space below the text.
Who is the interviewee?
“I come from almost 23 years working with the Razer brand here in Brazil. We started the work in 2002, a ‘little ant’ work, leaving it on consignment at large retailers. It was an unknown product at the time. Very expensive and hard to sell. It’s been years of fighting. We learned a lot, I learned a lot. I traveled to nine CES Las Vegas, I went to Computex Taipei, in China, I participated in eight BGS, I went to E3 to see several launches. I visited factories, not just for Razer, but factories all over the world.”
Joao Paulo Martins
Founder and Director of Force One
History of Force One
“I quit a year and a half ago [da Razer]. And that’s when I brought Force One to Brazil. But it was supposed to be a brand of gaming chairs only. We entered into a partnership with Vertagear, which is a world leader, to manufacture our chairs. We brought a container. High quality chairs. And it turned fine. Then we brought the second container. And, in the meantime, leaving Razer, I started thinking regarding turning Force One into a truly gamer brand, which had all the peripherals and served PC and mobile. We started a study back there. We brought an entry line. We brought the Cosmos line, which arrived this year as well and is between entry and mid-end. And we are jumping to a new level now in late August and early September with a high-end lineup.”
New top line of gaming peripherals
“We come with all the best technology in the world today, with the Huano Blue Shell Pink Dot switch, which is considered the best mouse switch in the world. It’s coming in our 63 gram model. I’ve taken it to several professional gamers and they’ve all been impressed. The feedback I got from the high-end line is very positive. This made us believe that Force One can be a brand positioned closer to the big brands. And we are really going to fight with them, having better technology and being much more aggressive in terms of price. A mouse from a competitor that costs BRL 1,400, with the same technology, we can deliver for BRL 699. We will be a great option for the market, with a huge range.”
Expansion to a concept store
“We are also coming, already under construction, scheduled to open at the end of September, the Force One Store, which is a store located on the main street of Santos. It is a store that will have two floors, 300 m² on each floor. A gigantic exhibition, experience and demonstration store. We’re going to have a podcast aquarium, a stream aquarium, an Internet cafe and a gym at the end with 10 professional PCs, a console area and a Force One Café as well. A very cool experience for the public, with specific and customized Force One products. Force One capsule coffee, ice cream and everything in between. Our idea is to use this space for the franchise program that we have with Rafa Matos. A very strong program in terms of kiosk, corner store, or store like ours. In 2024, we want to have more stores around Brazil.”
How does Force One see the current Brazilian market?
“We are arriving at a time when big brands are leaving Brazil. Some have already left and others are slowing down. The time is right for Force One to arrive. I bet a lot on that, that we are in the ideal moment. This post-pandemic period has really not been good. People ended up stocking too much. Sales slowed down throughout the entire period, and here in Brazil it was no different. I saw a lot of product burning in the last few months, the company working at a loss. And I believe that next year will improve a lot. And the brands that arrive strong now will certainly be present next year and beyond.”
main challenges
“The big challenge is to have an aggressive price, because it is a brand that we are building, and not consolidated. [As grandes marcas] they manage to put a really ‘over’ price, which is the price you pay for the brand. Closing big partners, big organizations and being close to them – both in the development of the products and in the use by the players. Offer the public the best in the world and also innovate. We innovated from the beginning. In the first line, we brought a keyboard called Avro. It was the first on the market that came with two key cap kits: black and white. This led the consumer to be able to buy that keyboard and customize it the way he wanted. Have a unique piece. We are coming now in August with a mouse that has a patent, which has four switches inside. There are two 80 million Huano Blue Shell Pink Dot switches, considered the best in the world, and two Huano Silent switches, which don’t make any noise. So, you’ve played in the followingnoon and then you’re going to play at night, you can change the little switch under the mouse, and it’s silent. We are coming with a hot swap mouse, which changes the switch. We are coming with keyboards in the gasket hot swap format, with a fantastic structure, also with two key cap kits and smart RGB lighting. Anyway, I think the challenge really is to bring what’s best, bring innovations to the market and be able to show it to the public. Whether in videos, in-store experience, at a fair – we are going to BGS this year with 300 m².”
Cosmos Line
The Cosmos line arrived in May. It is composed of four mouse pads, they are bestsellers. They are selling too much today. They are topographical. There’s one of ours that comes with writing in Japanese that comes out very well. We brought the Supernova, which is an input mouse with 20,000 DPI. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a product with such a powerful engine to be an entry-level product. We also brought the Titan, which is a 7.1 USB headphone jack. And it’s been pretty cool. We are in many points of sale. Official store is selling well. The most interesting thing regarding all of this is that the public that buys these products is leaving those five stars on the websites, commenting very well and we are very happy with this result.”
Plans to internationalize?
“The idea really is to make Force One global. I have ongoing negotiations with Peru, Mexico, Germany, the United States. Waiting for business here to pick up. Not in sales, but in having the entire portfolio here, with the entire number of SKUs, with the store. Being able to show the public the new partnerships that we are going to have, which are very strong. From that moment on, yes. Our idea is to also start operations in other countries in 2024.”
Second semester: BGS, Black Friday and more
“Black Friday was once the most important date of the year. I believe it continues to be, but with a little less relevance. And BGS is very important, as it is the moment to show the public our differential, our technology, our beauty in our products. Force One is also positioned as a boutique brand. In the entire line, we intend to work very hard on the image of the product, to have the most beautiful things on people’s tables. So much so that Force One is black and white, they are the brand’s colors. And our line is basically black or white. Always black with white accents, or white with black accents. Which is what the public is looking for nowadays. The sale of mouse pads that we had shows a great trend. Speaking of which, we also looked for some global trends to bring to Brazil. Our new line, for example, which comes with writing in Japanese, in Europe today, the ones that sell the most are those with writing. In Asia, it’s not even said. In the second half, the moment for us is BGS, Black Friday, the new website that will be online and be able to show our differential to the public through experiences, our beauty in products and through 3D videos that we are making of the products.”
Message to readers
“First, invite everyone to visit us at BGS. Anyone from São Paulo who manages to stop by our stand will be very well received. We’re going to have a lot of freebies. And leave a big vote of confidence, to trust Force One, that we are coming to Brazil very strong. Strong in terms of warranty, sales scope, capillarity. And most important: strong in product quality. We really appreciate having a product that doesn’t break down, or that, if it breaks down, is easy to repair. So, you can believe in us, that the return will be guaranteed.”
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