To Deliver a Genuine Brand Experience: Sunil Kaul, MD-Asia Pacific, Leica

DRESSED IN a semi-casual blue suit with a dazzling pair of red oval cufflinks inscribed Leica, Sunil Kaul, Managing Director-Asia Pacific, greets us at the state-of-the-art Connaught Place store inaugurated last year in November. “Leica is a pioneer in camera and optics for decades and has always aimed at bringing in a class apart photographic experience. That’s why the 160-year-old German brand finds place in the studios of renowned photographers and celebrities worldwide,” says Kaul on his recent trip to India.

Commenting on his approach to market the product and soon-to-be-launched C-Lux in India, he shares, “This store is a destination to capture memories. It exhibits the work of photographers who have personally used Leica and have been associated with us for many years. Since we are not in the commodity business to reach a revenue number, we are and will always be photography-oriented. We like to engage with people who get convinced with the right set of tools and equipment. And our cameras help them understand the difference between ‘take or make a picture’,” he smiles.

So is Kaul trying to engage his users to spread the word? “Photography is an important aspect of one’s travel and it varies from experiential to leisure travel. We run Leica Akademie of Photography where we train people from different walks of life and organise onsite training and webshots in destinations like Iceland to give hands-on training and tour of the product. We don’t like to spend billions of dollars on advertisements. Our approach is different.”

And what’s that? He explains, “Our sales strategy is lenient. We genuinely work on delivering a brand experience to our customers by engaging them on a one-on-one basis and invest in customer care and repair services. To an extent, we don’t make money as we want the initial batch of customers to truly understand the spirit of the company.”

A Leica camera starts from a price range of Rs 85,000 and Kaul believes that his product is not for the masses. “With the increasing purchasing power and eagerness to buy the best technology and product even in India, we serve about 5-6% of the total population. Our clients include professional photographers or CXOs—who understand the product and their personal requirement.”

We ended our conversation by asking his favourite series and he reveals how he has graduated to use M Series, “So this camera doesn’t take a picture. You take a picture. The camera is just a medium which helps you to click. The M system is totally cult.”