Anker Innovations: ‘The next three years will make these three years look quite modest’

ERTs Will McGill speaks to Anker Innovations Managing Director of UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal, Faraz Mehdi, and Country Manager, Jocelyn Qian, about the company’s ambitions for Anker, soundcore and eufy, its omnichannel strategy and where it sees the biggest opportunities.

From charging and audio to robotic floorcare and smart security, Anker Innovations has developed into a much broader consumer electronics business. Now, with an expanded UK team and increased focus on physical retail, the company believes its next phase will be driven by closer partnerships and continued innovation.

Faraz Mehdi, Managing Director of UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal, has spent almost two decades in consumer electronics, beginning his career in Dubai in 2007 before moving through retail, distribution and sales roles.

He joined Anker Innovations in 2018 as Regional Sales Manager, later becoming Country Manager and then Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, while also overseeing South Asia.

“In 2024, the company asked me to take care of the UK and Ireland business and move to London,” he explains. “In the Middle East and Africa, we were effectively taking the business from zero to one. In the UK, it was already established, but it needed to be taken to the next level.”

His remit has since expanded to cover the UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal, but strengthening the UK operation remains a priority.

“The biggest focus has been establishing Anker in the UK as a true omnichannel brand,” Mr Mehdi says. “Traditionally, we have been very strong on Amazon, but we also want extremely deep relationships with our offline retail partners alongside our direct-to-consumer channels.

“We have also invested significantly in people, expanding our marketing, go-to-market and sales teams.”

Today, Anker Innovations’ UK business centres on three principal brands: Anker for mobile charging, soundcore for audio and eufy for smart home.

“These are different categories solving different needs, but they are built on the same philosophy,” he says. “We want to bring innovative, high-quality products to consumers at a price that is still accessible.”

Mr Mehdi believes one of the biggest changes in electrical retail is the increasingly blurred distinction between online and offline.

“The customer no longer thinks in terms of an offline channel and an online channel,” he explains. “You might discover a product on social media, research it on a brand website, visit a physical store to experience it and then make the purchase elsewhere. The lines between channels have blurred.”

This makes balancing Anker Innovations’ D2C operations with its retail partnerships particularly important.

“D2C is almost our brand playground,” he says. “We can launch products, receive real-time customer feedback and control the experience end to end.

“Retail, on the other hand, gives us scale which no other channel can replicate. It also builds trust because consumers can physically experience products and judge their quality.”

The business is also exploring retail-exclusive SKUs, bundles and differing launch and promotional strategies to ensure channels complement rather than undermine each other.

Having previously worked in retail himself, Mr Mehdi says partnership is fundamental.

“We can have the best products in the world, but if we don’t have a true partner that understands those products, gets behind them and brings them to consumers, that’s only half of the story.

“We can work together on ranging, merchandising and co-marketing, not just buying and selling. How do I increase my business and increase your business? That’s where the real partnership happens.”

Charging ahead

For Jocelyn Qian, Country Manager at Anker Innovations UK, the continued success of Anker’s charging business comes down to trust.

“Consumers trust an Anker charger to be fast, safe and reliable,” she says. “There is significant technology underneath that, including our GaN technology and PowerIQ smart charging protocols, but what the consumer experiences is peace of mind.”

She sees further opportunities in higher-powered, multi-device charging as consumers carry an increasing number of devices.

“They want a single charging solution,” Ms Qian explains. “They don’t want to carry everything separately.”

Turning up the soundcore

soundcore faces a different challenge in the fiercely competitive audio sector.

“We are competing against brands with decades of heritage, massive marketing budgets and deeply entrenched consumer loyalty,” Ms Qian says. “For soundcore to succeed, we have to find a clear and credible point of difference.”

Part of that differentiation comes from developing technology in-house rather than relying solely on off-the-shelf components.

But specifications alone will not win consumers over.

“What resonates is what that technology enables: a genuinely premium listening experience without the premium price tag.”

A smarter eufy

For eufy, Ms Qian identifies three trends driving the smart home market: healthier homes, security without compromise and artificial intelligence that delivers genuine value.

In floorcare, growing awareness around cleanliness and allergens is supporting demand for robotic vacuums offering deeper cleaning, mopping and increasingly sophisticated self-maintenance functions.

In security, meanwhile, eufy’s focus on local storage, no mandatory subscription fees and encryption is designed to address growing consumer concerns around privacy and ongoing costs.

Then there is AI.

“Consumers are tired of smart devices that feel dumb,” Ms Qian says.

Eufy’s on-device AI can, for example, distinguish between a familiar person approaching a property and a delivery driver leaving a parcel, helping reduce unnecessary alerts.

“Looking ahead, I see the category moving towards integrated ecosystems, where your robot vacuum, doorbell and security cameras work together seamlessly, and towards predictive intelligence where your home anticipates your needs rather than waiting for a command.”

The next chapter

Sustainability is also becoming increasingly embedded in how Anker Innovations develops its products.

Mr Mehdi highlights the move towards zero-plastic packaging through greater use of paperboard and moulded pulp. In 2025, the company also achieved an 82 per cent post-consumer recycled material adoption rate across 11 mobile charging projects, ahead of its 60 per cent annual target.

“When you’re shipping millions of units, these changes can have a real measurable impact,” he says.

Looking ahead, Mr Mehdi believes smart home offers significant potential, while deepening retail relationships and investing further in the UK team will also be central to growth.

“It is going mainstream, but we’re still in the early innings,” he says of smart home. “Robot vacuums, security cameras and video doorbells are fast-growing categories, but there is still enormous headroom in UK household penetration.”

Europe grew by around 43 per cent for Anker Innovations in 2025, according to Mr Mehdi, becoming its fastest-growing global region and representing more than 26 per cent of the business.

“If you look at where we were three years ago and where we are today, the trajectory is clear,” he adds. “But I believe the next three years will make these three years look quite modest.”

“We want to be a partner, not just a supplier,” Mr Mehdi concludes. “We bring world-class innovation, consistent investment in brand building and a team on the ground in the UK committed to mutual growth.

“Anker, soundcore and eufy are three brands with one promise: technology that makes life better, at a price that makes it accessible.”

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