Indian version of Chinese handsets with warranty (India)Consumer goods giants Videocon, B K Modi owned Spice Mobiles, Usha Lexus, Delhi based Intex and Reliance Communications, are joining the bandwagon by leveraging their brands and offering warranties which are not available on the Chinese products. Almost 6 million GSM phones are sold every month in India. With the entry of new players and telcos moving to rural areas , it is expected that the market will grow further.
Indian companies are confident of taking on the big multinationals. The domestic companies are importing phones from countries such as China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, affixing their brand names, and offering warranties and after-sales services not provided by the non-branded Chinese products.
Videocon plans to launch GSM mobile phones around Diwali. “In a couple of years, we will be able to compete with the multi-national companies. Most importantly, we have brand acceptability. Moreover, we not only have the infrastructure, but also service capabilities to go to every customer,” said HS Bhatia, Vice President and Business Head-GSM mobiles, Videocon.
There are others who see a potential in the smaller towns and rural India, a market which is open to everyone. Ramesh Vaswani, executive chairman of Intex Technologies says, “Multinational companies have established their brands, the Indian companies hence have to carve a niche for themselves, so though the mobile brands dominate the market, the rural areas and B and C class towns are still open for Indian players ” Intex which deals in mid-range phones costing over Rs 1,000-Rs 8,000 is looking to clock revenues of over Rs 40 crore through its mobile business. It also says that by buying in volumes it is able to get imported phones at a cheaper price.
Even analysts say there could be a market for new players. Though there is not much of a difference in the prices of the foreign branded Indian manufactured phones and phones imported from China however the parts of the rural market are still virgin.
Established mobile phone brands are however not alarmed by the entry of new players. Devinder Kishore, Director-Marketing Nokia says, “We already have our strategy for the rural market in place, we provide multi-lingual capabilities, our phones are rugged and affordable. However entry of new players is welcome, competition is always good for the market and the industry. But it is important to note that customers look for value and not only cost.”
