• DG+ expects double-digit growth as people are not dining and spending on fashion as they are indoors.
• Pandemic has changed consumer behaviour a lot and people are upgrading their audio solutions as they stay more time indoors.
• Streaming business is going to grow more with 5G and that is going to help the industry.

Having personalised home theatre, music lounge and gaming zone are on top of the UAE consumers’ list as they are spending more time at home, an industry expert said.

Speaking to TechChannel News, Hitesh Ojha, Head of Audio Video Business at DG+, an audio-visual solutions unit of Sharaf DG Business, said that Covid-19 has changed consumer behaviour a lot and they are going to spend more time indoors for a longer period, even after post-pandemic.

“People are investing in good audio and video equipment. Since they are spending more time at home, people are upgrading their audio solutions,” he said.

The home entertainment business has done well for DG+, he said and added that they expect double-digit growth as people are not dining and spending on fashion as they are indoors.

“We expect to close the year with more than10 per cent growth when compared to 2019. With TVs becoming thin and to do justice to it, people are buying amplifiers and speakers to get proper surround sound when watching good movies,” he said.

Even in gaming, he said that people need proper surround speakers to get immersed in it.

“There are certain brands that have a certain type of pull in the home entertainment market such as JBL and Bose. From an audio files perspective, there are other brands such as Kef, Q Acoustics, Definitive Technology and Bowers & Wilkins speaker that offer much more in reproducing audio details,” he said.

Big brands under its belt

DG+ has partnerships with Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, Kef, Bowers & Wilkins, Sonos, Taga, Q Acoustics and more.

DG+ was started in 2007 after witnessing space in the premium audio space.

“We understand what our customers need, and working with global partners, we reverberate premium entertainment experience into the comfort of their homes,” Ojha said.

Market statistics show that revenues from the home entertainment segment are projected to reach AED45 billion this year globally, with an expected annual growth rate of 12.1 per cent between 2020-2025, resulting in a projected market volume of AED79 billion by 2025.

The data from Statista also explains that the home entertainment segment already enjoys a household penetration of 6.3 per cent, which is expected to hit 14.1 per cent by 2025.

On average, Ojha said that people are investing more than AED15,000 for a proper cinematic experience and on the higher end, people are also converting rooms into cinema rooms.

Converting rooms into cinema outfits

“We convert rooms into cinema outfit with turnkey solutions, including recliner chairs. More people are moving in that direction. Even, children are using that space for educational purposes as they become more involved in it. It is not only that people are converting rooms in villas to cinema rooms but also in flats,” he said.

People stick to one brand for amplifiers, he said, but in the speaker space, it depends and if a new brand launches a speaker, people would like to demo it and if they like more than what they have, then they purchase a new brand.

Otherwise, he said that they [consumers] stick to the same brand for speakers.

With 5G already rolled out, Ojha said the streaming business is going to grow more and that is going to “help us to bring that cinematic experience to more homes of more people. Streaming is here to stay and there is no doubt about it.”