Vaio is making a comeback in India on January 15. The new Vaio laptops will be available for purchase in the country through Flipkart. The brand had once gained popularity in the Indian market for its sleek and colourful laptops, though it silently exited the country a few years back. Hong Kong-based Nexsto Company, which also sells Avita laptops in India and global markets, is reviving the Vaio brand through a license agreement with Japan’s Vaio Corporation. It is already manufacturing, selling, marketing, and serving Vaio laptops in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Middle East.
The Vaio laptops entering the Indian market are claimed to be “premium, intelligently-crafted” and deliver “exceptional” quality. However, the brand hasn’t revealed the specifications or features of its new models.
“We are looking forward to becoming the top choice for laptop buyers across the country,” said Seema Bhatnagar, Regional Business Director, South Asia, Vaio, in a press statement announcing the brand’s comeback.
Flipkart has created a microsite to tease the launch of the new Vaio laptops in the country. The microsite gives us a sneak peek at the design of the upcoming range and suggests that the laptops will have a lightweight build.
Back in 1996, Sony introduced Vaio as its PC subsidiary. It attracted consumers with its thin models at a time when the market was full of bulky and thick laptops. The brand also got recognition for its 2-in-1 and hybrid models. However, Sony found it hard to survive in the PC market and eventually sold the brand to the investment firm, Japan Industrial Partners, in February 2014. That move took Vaio away from India and global markets.
Vaio’s launch comes amid a growing laptop market in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has made working from home a necessity. According to a recent report by International Data Corporation (IDC), the PC market in the country saw a 9.2 percent year-over-year (YoY) growth in the third quarter of 2020. The market is dominated by traditional players including HP, Lenovo, and Dell for some time, though new entrants like Xiaomi are expanding their lineups to find new Indian consumers.
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