Exclusive: Yealink's Jeremy Chen on expanding into Australian retail

Yealink is expanding into the Australian consumer market through a new partnership with Officeworks, bringing its business-grade headsets to retail shelves for the first time.

The company says the move is driven by changing work habits, rising expectations for audio quality and a belief that Australians prefer buying certain tech in person.

Retail shift

"This new partnership means the consumer can easily walk into a store they already trust and get their hands on this enterprise-grade technology. It's easier for the customer to find more technology-driven business headsets," said Jeremy Chen, Country Manager (Headset Business), Yealink ANZ.

Chen said the timing reflects the way Australians now shop.

"I asked them the question, are you still familiar with shopping online, or when you have something you want to be shopping in a store? I got more than 70% saying, I want to be shopping in the store. They can touch and feel things," added Chen.

According to Chen, many shoppers are still encountering decade-old audio technology in stores, despite rapid improvements since the pandemic.

"I am still seeing customers using 10-year-old technology. So that's why I feel it's really the right timing for us to bring enterprise-level products to daily offices," added Chen.

Hybrid habits

Chen said work patterns in Australia continue to influence product design and distribution.

"It's hybrid working two to three days in the office, and two days at home. Sometimes it makes it difficult when I try to get an appointment with customers, but this is one thing: hybrid working is not a temporary solution. It's already here," added Chen.

Headsets, he said, have shifted from optional to essential. "Before the pandemic, a headset was a nice-to-have. What I am seeing today is it's already becoming the new norm. It's essential for work communication," added Chen.

He said professional audio is increasingly important because workers take calls from varied environments. "If you're still wearing earbuds with a weak microphone, all the people talking around you mean the other side can't hear clearly. It doesn't sound good or professional in your daily work," added Chen.

Product design

A key feature in Yealink's latest models is a retractable microphone boom arm. "We call it a hidden retractable microphone design. When you're walking on the street, you can wear it like a fashionable headphone, but when you have a meeting, you just slightly pull it out. The mic automatically unmutes," said Chen.

Noise-cancellation remains the company's primary innovation. During product demos, Chen often uses a hairdryer to demonstrate suppression performance. "I turn it on and keep talking. I always ask, can you hear any noise from my side? They're always surprised to see how powerful it is," added Chen.

The company is now applying machine learning to further refine this. "We are using AI technology to improve the noise cancelling. With the help of AI, it can detect the noise more clearly, capture and eliminate it more efficiently," added Chen.

Yealink's naming conventions are also designed to simplify the range. "If you see anything starting with BH, that means Bluetooth headset. If you see anything with UH, that's USB wired headset. It's trying to make things easier for customers to remember us," said Chen.

Comfort also remains a priority. "For headsets, you really need to get them in your hand, play with it, and find the design you like. You can only touch and feel good quality ear cushions to see how light and comfortable it is," added Chen.

Strategy and innovation

Chen said Yealink's consumer push builds on the company's history in enterprise communication.

"Yealink is not that popular for consumers right now, but we have built our reputation based on reliability and quality for business. It's about bringing enterprise-grade technology to the daily consumer," added Chen.

He said Yealink's heavy investment in engineering underpins its approach. "We have more than 3000 employees, but more than 50% are from R&D backgrounds. Even the management team: we have seven people and half are from R&D. We invest more than 10% of our revenue into R&D every year," added Chen.

Brand awareness, he said, is the next challenge.

"We are lacking brand awareness on the consumer side. Officeworks is helping us. Through the retail channel, it's helpful for making it more accessible for the consumer to understand what Yealink can provide," added Chen.

Australia is the first market to receive Yealink's new retail strategy. "Australia is the first market for us to launch with retail. Within the success we build, it will be the blueprint for Yealink's global market. It's a big milestone for us," added Chen.

What comes next?

Chen said the company plans to broaden its consumer product line.

"It's just the start. We are doing lots of new innovation. We are developing open-wearing headsets, like sports headsets, but with a small microphone. When you are listening to music or running you can wear it like a consumer sports headset, but when you have a phone call, you can put the microphone here and make it a professional headset," added Chen.

He said Yealink's vision remains consistent across product categories. "Yealink's vision is helping people communicate and collaborate more easily and more efficiently, no matter where and how they work," added Chen.

"Hybrid working is not a temporary solution. It's already there," added Chen.