Wang Feng, FIIL's chairman, introduces FIIL during the 2016 Global Mobile Internet Conference on April 28. Photo: CFP

Chinese musician and singer Wang Feng has pushed back at critics who claim that his  headphone brand FIIL has depreciated, saying in a recent online interview that he wants to focus on quality and cater to upscale consumers.

Wang launched FIIL products in October 2015. Since then, the brand has garnered considerable public attention for its trendy design. Fashioned by Design Affairs, a design company based in Germany, FIIL hit the market with a splash, copping both the iF Design Award and the Red Dot Design Award in 2016.

Industry expectations of FIIL's market value and potential as a new Chinese headphone brand were high. FIIL's estimated value was about 1 billion yuan ($15 million), and the brand received $20 million in group A fundraising in January, a July 20 report by financial news website yicai.com said.

However, from its launch date until now, only about 70,000 FIIL headphones have been sold, much less than was anticipated. Also, some people have speculated that the brand has depreciated, claiming that Wang's cross-industrial business was not smooth, and FIIL's sales rate looks bleak, yicai.com reported on July 20.

In responding to his critics, Wang explained that he was not pursuing great sales for his brand, and he wants to focus on the quality of his product rather than the sales.

"Selling about 100,000 pieces per year will be enough to cover the costs," he told yicai.com, saying that he is not worried about the sales.

"Based on our products' superior quality, I am confident that there will definitely be a day when FIIL headphones will become the necessity of a great many of Chinese music lovers," Wang said.

According to Wang, FIIL's plan is to make its products "light luxury" merchandise that cater to upscale consumers, similar to the marketing strategy of famous American headphone brand Beats in China.

Wang revealed that FIIL will launch a new product named DIVA in August. Young consumers will still be the target group for this product. Wang's wife, Zhang Ziyi, a Chinese film star, will possibly be the spokesperson for DIVA, reported the Beijing Morning Post.

Currently, there are only three types of FIIL headphones on the market: FIIL, FIIL Wireless Bluetooth, and FIIL Bestie headphones. The headphones cost between 599 and 1,999 yuan.