Александр ДУ: «У бренда COUGAR есть свои фишки – это экспериментальный дизайн, упор на качество, работа с игроками и отработка всех деталей продукта»

Alexander Du, regional representative of the COUGAR brand, answers questions from the iXBT.pro analytical department.

How have your sales in Russia been developing over the past two years?

The last two years have shown a high growth rate for the COUGAR brand in Russia. Our market share has grown and remains stable at 12-15% for power supplies, about 10% for cases, and slightly less than 10% for gaming furniture. Again, we calculate in percentages of the total market capacity, because if we talk in units, the Russian market, unfortunately, is flooded with low-end, entry-level products sold at a different price.

Is your production of gaming and ergonomic furniture continuing to gain momentum?

We have increased not only production but also the development of new models. At the end of 2024, we launched new ergonomic gaming chair models Speeder and Speeder One, which took the top spots in sales rankings.

Where are your factories for the production of gaming and ergonomic furniture located?

Traditionally, our engineers in Taiwan are responsible for development, colleagues from all over the world work on the product, collecting information from distributors, from gaming tournaments, from sponsored teams - everyone participates in product development. The production itself is located in China.

How much has the productivity of these factories increased?

It's not so much the productivity that has increased, but the issues of product quality control, the quality of the component base, and the ability to respond quickly. For example, today the level of warranty claims for power supplies and furniture is less than half a percent, for cases less than 0.2%, while for the industry as a whole this figure is many times higher. This indicator is more important to us than productivity - it builds trust with both retail partners and buyers. Even looking at user reviews, you can already form an opinion about the quality of the products.

Does artificial intelligence help you in the production of your products in any way?

We are still experimenting with simple products. Recently, engineers made a new gaming mousepad, the design of which was developed by AI - that is, how AI sees our brand. By the way, we have introduced this BREAKER mousepad into mass production, and it will appear on the market in 2025.

What new models of motorized ergonomic desks have you introduced?

For new motorized desks, we will release dual-motor E-GRAV 180 models with a tabletop up to 180 cm. A special square-shaped base, a mousepad included, and we plan the price at 29 999 rubles, which will be the first price on the market for a model of this class. By the way, the line will be in black and white, as well as in a size of 160 cm, which will be cheaper, respectively.

Have you seen competition from domestic chair manufacturers? There used to be none because you had different positioning. Has it changed?

I would say absolutely nothing has changed for us. Domestic manufacturers are expanding the choice for buyers. But the brand retains its features - experimental design, emphasis on quality, constant work with players and refining all product details, bringing it to world-class standards.

Are you still widely using experimental design?

Yes, it's the soul of the brand. For example, a new model of the legendary Terminator is now being prepared - Terminator Air, but it will be made in an ergonomic design, in a mesh, all back support zones will be active, and importantly, the price in Russia will no longer be 80-100 thousand rubles as in the first version, but only 37 999 rubles.

Complex design is more difficult to produce. How do you cope with this task?

It is difficult at the development level, such models require obtaining a patent to avoid copies, they are more expensive due to the large number of complex molds and parts. But our brand has a huge sales geography, so sales volumes allow us to reduce the cost, and effective production work increases the quality of the product many times over, which ultimately creates an excellent cost and affordable price.

How did Russian users react to your NxSys Aero line of chairs with active cooling?

The Russian climate is not hot enough for the demand for active cooling built into the chair to be high. Therefore, there were, of course, buyers for this model, but in general, the concept of the model is for other regions. Models in fabric and mesh have proven themselves perfectly in Russia.

What part of your products in Russia do you sell through marketplaces?

I think no more than 10%, since marketplaces are mainly focused on the entry-level segment. Of course, those who know our models can find and buy them on marketplaces, but this is far from the main channel for the brand.

Regarding esports, how many international tournaments have you supported and what has it given you?

In each region, we constantly participate in the life of esports, for example, at the moment League of Legends is cooperating with COUGAR as the official partner for gaming chairs for the League of Legends Championship Pacific 2025 tournament. COUGAR chairs will be used on stage and in coaching rooms at the main stadium in Taiwan, as well as in tournament studios in Japan and Vietnam. This helps brand awareness, and the number of fans among professional players is growing.

How is your cooperation with DNS developing?

The DNS sales network was and remains our main partner. It has more than three thousand stores throughout Russia, respectively, well-established logistics, the possibility of convenient selection and receipt of products. For us, as a brand, a serious approach to quality, after-sales service, as well as seasonal promotions is very important - DNS retail copes with all this perfectly. Therefore, sales are growing steadily, I think that this year we will still show double-digit growth figures.

What can you offer the audience from more affordable models?

Now is the period of seasonal updating of lines, so there is a significant price reduction on the Explore and Outrider models of the past season. These models are exclusively represented in DNS.

Now, please, a few words about your latest novelties.

We will talk about new products at the Computex exhibition on your video channel. And by the way, one of the first new products is the absolutely symmetrical OmnyX case, it will appear in the DNS network this summer. Also, the line of ergonomic chairs will be formed this year, and the price of the entry-level Stryder ergonomic chair will be 9999 rubles - this will be the first price on the market.

What has changed in the positioning of your products in Russia over the past two years?

To the detriment of our economy, we try to make the price positioning of the brand significantly lower than the level of comfort and quality that we offer. Low prices are not always good for distributors, they reduce their margins, but for users, price is a weighty argument at the selection stage. For us, at the stage of dynamic brand development, the opinion of users is the main argument in favor of positioning. Also this year we are adding a line of COUGAR bags, but the selection of a distributor in Russia for the implementation of these products is still underway.

Regarding the production of your cases, how many models have you stopped producing and how many new models have you introduced?

For cases, we seriously weed out the model range, more than 20 positions were withdrawn by the beginning of 2025, but this year we introduced new case models FV270, FV150, MX220, Airface Eco and a number of other new products are on the way, including OmnyX. A similar update of the lines is happening for power supplies and gaming chairs.

Which sites do you mainly use to promote your products in Russia?

Directly from Taiwan, we only work with IXBT, you are a serious and authoritative agency. And our distributors actively cover all other media agencies, Youtube channels and social networks.