DJI Technology, the world's largest consumer drone maker, has opened its first retail store in China. The Chinese company, which dominates the U.S. drone market, hopes the flagship shop in Shenzhen will help broaden its domestic customer base.
36-year-old Liu Xiaoge who works for an airline, brought his family to see drones on Sunday. They are one of the first groups of Shenzhen citizens to visit DJI's first flagship shop in Shenzhen.
"I think this is quite good. When my child is older, I'll buy one for him so he can play with it. This is good. We didn't have things like these when we were children. It will be good for children to play with them," Liu said.
At the other side of the shop, 30 year old I-T consultant Jack Wan has queued for about 2 hours to buy a discounted model. He is excited about his new toy.
"I think DJI gives us common folk a chance to play with drones. In the past, using a drone was something exclusive, the idea seemed very far away from us. But now it's very close. And normal people can afford to buy one too," said Jack Wan, 30-year-old IT consultant.
DJI claims to supply 70 percent of the commercial drone market worldwide and an even larger portion of the global consumer market. Its 800-square-metre shop aims to help the firm expand its customer base in China.
"We've now reached a size where we think we can reach a broader set of consumers, beyond the early adopters, beyond the tech guys who are just adopting new technology, but to a broader consumer market, who are really excited about the technology but they want to understand it before they use it," said Michael Perry, director of strategic partnerships.
The store opening came less than a week after US authorities ordered drone users to register their unmanned aircraft. And China's aviation regulator also published provisional rules this month.
"We feel like the long term effect on sales will be beneficial, because you will have a regulated environment where the technology can operate effectively and legally. In a grey-zone type system, there might be people saying, 'Well, I could use this, but I may not know if I'm using it legally or not.'" Michael Perry said.
Research firm Taibo Intelligence forecasts the Chinese drone industry will hit 2.5 billion yuan, or almost US$ 390 million, this year, and grow to some 20 billion yuan by 2020.
