From pioneering the floppy disk revolution that powered India’s early computing era to engineering future-ready gadgets for a hybrid world, Amkette stands as a remarkable testament to longevity in the fast-paced consumer electronics industry.
Founded way back in the year 1984, the company built its reputation on a foundation of robust research and development, even solving unique local challenges like preventing fungal growth on floppy disks to service global giants like IBM and Microsoft. Three decades later, the brand has executed a masterful transformation, pivoting from storage media to become a leader in technology accessories and lifestyle products.
Today, Amkette is driving innovation at the intersection of productivity and multimedia, with a portfolio that spans wireless peripherals, immersive audio, and smart connectivity solutions. With recent launches like the XS Series wireless mice and Optimus Bluetooth keyboards, the company demonstrates its commitment to democratizing premium features—such as dual scrolling technology and multi-device connectivity—at accessible price points for the Indian consumer.
Varun Bapna, VP, Amkette & Founder, EvoFox speaks with Zia Askari from ChannelDrive.in to discuss the company’s rich legacy, its strategic pivot to lifestyle technology, channel strategy and ambitious vision for shaping India’s next chapter of tech excellence.
Amkette was once synonymous with floppy drives and later gaming controllers. How do you define the company’s core identity today for channel partners and end customers?
I think Amkette’s identity has always evolved along with how the Indian consumer has used technology. At one point we were known for storage products like floppy drives, CDs, DVDs and USB drives, later for PC peripherals and media players, and more recently for gaming peripherals through EvoFox. But over the years, the company itself has evolved far beyond any one category or even one brand.
Today, we see ourselves less as a single-category hardware company and more as a broader consumer technology company with multiple focused brands under it.
The original Amkette brand itself is increasingly focused on productivity and everyday technology accessories with XS Series by Amkette focused on Premium Productivity products. EvoFox is an independent gaming and lifestyle technology brand, and Mozen focuses on premium charging and power solutions. So the structure today is much more of a house of brands rather than a single-category company.
A big part of my role has been helping transition the company into this next phase. The original strength of Amkette was built through deep channel relationships and distribution across India, and that foundation is still extremely important to us. But the market today is far more multi-channel than it was even 5–10 years ago.
Consumers now discover and buy products across retail, marketplaces, quick commerce, creators, and social platforms simultaneously. So for us, the focus is on building strong brands and products that can work consistently across all of these channels, while still maintaining the trust we’ve built with partners over decades.
At the end of the day, the core philosophy remains the same – building technology products that are relevant, accessible, and designed for the Indian consumer.
With rising competition from Chinese and local peripheral brands in India, what is Amkette’s unique value proposition for distributors and retailers?
The market is definitely far more competitive today, but in the long run, this category is not driven only by pricing. But our core philosophy remains unchanged – if we can deliver value to the end consumer – the retail channels will also thrive.
For customer AND distributors and retailers, consistency matters – product quality, lower failure rates, reliable supply, after-sales support, and overall channel trust. What we internally call – Price Killers – High Quality Products, that deliver maximum consumer features at unbeatable prices.
One advantage for us is that we’ve been part of the Indian technology ecosystem for decades, so we understand both Indian consumers and Indian retail very well. A product designed for global markets does not always work the same way in India.
We’ve also evolved from being a single-category company into a house of brands. Amkette, EvoFox, Mozen all focused on different customer needs. This approach has also helped partners position our products more clearly for different consumer segments.
How do you balance legacy distribution (tier-2/tier-3 cities) with the rapid growth of quick commerce and online B2B platforms for IT hardware?
I don’t think it’s really an either-or situation anymore. India has become a genuinely multi-channel market, and different channels serve very different consumer behaviors.
Traditional distribution and retail remain extremely important for us, especially across tier-2 and tier-3 markets where relationships, trust, and local availability still play a huge role. At the same time, quick commerce, marketplaces, and online B2B platforms are changing how consumers discover and purchase technology products.
Our approach is to build products and brands that can work across all of these channels while maintaining reasonable channel discipline and consistency. The goal is not to shift from offline to online, but to create a stronger integrated ecosystem where each channel complements the other.
Your FlashDrive series and Evo gaming controllers are popular. What is Amkette’s roadmap for higher-margin products like mechanical keyboards, docks, or streaming accessories?
That’s definitely an area we’re expanding into across multiple brands.
With EvoFox, we’re seeing strong growth in categories like mechanical keyboards, premium controllers, gaming audio, and other experience-driven gaming peripherals. At the same time, under Amkette and XS Series, we’re focusing more on productivity-oriented products like ergonomic peripherals, docks, and modern workspace accessories.
Mozen is another important part of this evolution, especially in premium charging and power solutions where consumers are increasingly looking for better design, reliability, and faster charging ecosystems across devices.
Overall, the direction is towards more specialized and design-led products rather than competing only in entry-level commodity categories.
Are you exploring ‘Make in India’ for any peripheral line? How would that change your pricing and channel margins compared to imports?
Yes, absolutely. In fact, several of our categories are already exclusively Made in India. Mozen, for example, was built as an India-first brand, and products like power banks, GaN chargers, and cables are already being manufactured locally.
We are also actively working towards expanding local assembly and manufacturing capabilities for more advanced categories like mechanical keyboards and other premium peripherals. Across multiple categories, we’re seeing rapid improvement in India’s manufacturing ecosystem, which is encouraging.
The challenge with peripherals today is that while final assembly can increasingly happen in India, a large part of the component ecosystem is still heavily dependent on imports. In many categories, importing complete products is still more cost-efficient because supply chains, tooling, and component manufacturing are far more mature outside India.
That said, wherever possible, we are actively supporting the local ecosystem by investing in tooling, machinery, and long-term manufacturing partnerships. We believe this will become increasingly important not just for government and enterprise opportunities, but also for building stronger long-term supply chain stability in India.
What is your current partner onboarding process, and what incentives do you offer to IT retailers to push Amkette over competing brands at the point of sale?
For us, channel relationships have always been long-term relationships rather than purely transactional ones. So onboarding is not just about expanding reach, but about finding partners who align with the categories and markets we’re building for.
A lot of the focus today is on product positioning, retailer confidence, availability, and after-sales support rather than only scheme-driven selling. Different regions and retail formats also require very different approaches, so flexibility becomes important.
At the same time, as the market becomes more multi-channel, we’re also investing more into brand-building, packaging, digital visibility, and consumer awareness so that retailers benefit from stronger pull at the point of sale rather than relying only on push.
Channel conflict is real, how do you manage parity between large-format retail (Croma, Reliance Digital), online marketplaces, and your exclusive distributors?
Channel conflict is definitely one of the biggest realities of modern retail, especially in consumer technology where customers move across channels before making a purchase.
Internally, one of the biggest things we focus on is maintaining price parity and strong adherence to MOP structures across channels. In a multi-channel environment, consistency becomes extremely important for long-term channel trust.
At the same time, we also try to maintain some level of channel differentiation through exclusive products or channel-specific assortments. That gives partners better control over positioning and margins while allowing products to be better aligned with the audience of that particular channel.
Different channels still serve very different purposes – large-format retail drives experience and visibility, traditional distribution gives deep market reach, while marketplaces and quick commerce improve accessibility and discovery. Our goal is not to have channels competing aggressively with each other, but to build a healthier and more balanced ecosystem overall.
For tier-3 and tier-4 towns, what is your fulfillment strategy to ensure stock availability without overburdening small partners with inventory costs?
India is an extremely diverse market, and tier-3 and tier-4 towns often operate very differently from metro retail. One thing we’ve learned over time is that pushing excessive inventory into the channel is not a sustainable strategy for anyone.
Our approach is to focus on better demand planning, faster replenishment cycles, and a more balanced product mix depending on the market. We also work closely with our distribution partners to ensure retailers have access to the right products without needing to carry very large inventories.
At the same time, online platforms and improved logistics networks are also changing fulfillment dynamics in smaller towns, so the ecosystem today is becoming far more flexible than it was a few years ago.
With the rise of hybrid work, B2B bulk orders for keyboards, mice, and webcams have increased. Does Amkette have a dedicated enterprise sales team or partner program for SMBs?
Yes, hybrid work has definitely expanded the demand for productivity-focused peripherals across both SMBs and larger organizations.
Historically, Amkette has had strong relationships within the IT channel ecosystem, so a lot of our enterprise and SMB presence has naturally grown through distribution and partner networks. At the same time, we are increasingly building more focused engagement around B2B requirements, especially for categories like productivity peripherals, workspace accessories, and charging solutions.
What’s also changing is that enterprise buyers today are looking for the same things consumers look for – reliability, design, compatibility, and after-sales support – so the gap between consumer and enterprise product expectations is becoming much smaller.
Gaming peripherals are booming. How is Amkette positioning itself against Logitech G, Razer, and even HP’s Omen in India’s organized retail channel?
Gaming is definitely one of the fastest-growing consumer technology categories in India today, and through EvoFox we’ve built a very strong position in that space. In several categories like mechanical keyboards, gamepads, and gaming mice, we are already among the leading players in the market.
Our approach has been very different from many global brands. Companies like Logitech or Razer are largely building for global audiences first. We spend a lot of time understanding the Indian gamer specifically – how they play, what devices they use, what price points make sense, and where they are willing to spend more for better experiences.
That focus on delivering strong value for the Indian consumer has been a major advantage for us. We’re not trying to replicate international brands at international pricing. We’re trying to build products that feel aspirational, high-performance, and accessible for a much larger gaming audience in India.
