Meridian Mobile, which is part of the UK based Meridian Group and pioneered the FMCG distribution in many parts of Europe, now launches its flagship brand for GSM phones “Fly” in India. Fly was launched about two years ago in East and Central Europe and has since emerged as a strong player in that market. It has in a short span also carved a credible market in these countries and is now ready for a launch in UK, Spain, Germany and South Asia. Meridian Telecom is now poised to become one of the fastest growing companies in mobile telephony today.

Product development is a key strength of Meridian. Sourcing professionals from the German office of Meridian Telecom have selected models for the Indian market that are both at the cutting-edge of features, design and incorporate the best of international styling. Also, Meridian Telecom has over a period of one year carried-out extensive and rigorous testing and customization of Fly products for the Indian market.

Fly is being launched with a variety of exclusive and differentiated mobile phones. Stated Rajiv Khanna, CEO, India Operations, “It is important to have fully loaded phones as the replacement market gets stronger. This is likely to result in huge demand for feature rich and stylish phones. Meridian will offer the critical buyer with smart value choices.”

Further stated Mr. Khanna, “Our marketing strategy is to focus on store branding and forging alliances with retailers. In the 1st phase our focus is on placement. We hope to reach 5000 premium counters by the end of 1st quarter, which will together account for 70% of the over-all retail sales.”

Given the contemporary styling of Fly phones, the diva Malaika Arora has been signed-on as the brand ambassador. Malaika Arora has been selected from among other contenders to be the brand ambassador, and is very excited to be associated with Fly. She would personally kick-off the launch of Fly both in print and electronic media. Fly phones, which reflect the best of trendy & glamorous styling, would be aptly showcased by the style icon Malaika Arora.

Fly SL 500M is a chic and very thin slider phone, has 1.3 Mega-Pixel camera with expandable memory, video ring tones with MPEG 4 and IRDA, Bluetooth and every other conceivable feature such as video recorder and player, MP3 player and 64 tone polyphonic and MP3 tones. This model would be available at Rs 10,990/- ( MRP ).

Fly SL 300M is a very smart slider camera phone and comes in a very attractive black color. Fly SL 300M will lead ‘Fly’ positioning in the media blitz to follow. It has features like MP3 player, video player and recorder, 64 tone polyphonic and MP3 ring tones and expandable memory.This model would be available at Rs 8,990/- ( MRP ).

Fly MP 330 – The Stereo Phone, is the only phone in the market that can enhance equivalent volume of 40 Watts. It has features like 1.3 Mega-Pixel camera with woofer and speaker console, which is yet to be launched even in the West. It also has video recorder and player, 64 tone polyphonic and MP3 tones. This model would be available at Rs 10,490/- ( MRP ).

At only 9.2 mm width, Fly 2040 is one of the slimmest phone in the market that can easily fit into a wallet. It comes laden with features like 1.3 Mega-Pixel camera with Flash, Bluetooth enabled ( voice, data and music ), MP 3 player, continuous video recording and playback, 262K TFT display, Video Ringtones, 60 MB Internal Memory ( Nand Flash ), Micro SD Card Slot and IrDA connectivity. This model would be available at Rs 8,490/- ( MRP ).

Fly MX 300 is a slim clamshell phone, with 262K TFT main LCD display and 65K CSTN sub-LCD display. It is one of the slimmest in its category at only 14.9 mm. It has features like video ringtones, 1.3 Mega-Pixel camera with Flash, Bluetooth enabled (voice, data and music), MP 3 player, continuous video recording and playback, 60 MB Internal Memory ( Nand Flash ), Micro SD Card Slot and IrDA connectivity. This model would be available at Rs 9,990/- ( MRP ).

MARKETING PLANS
Our key success is getting more value with targeted marketing. Regular promotions reinforce our brand values. Stated Mr. Khanna, “Our product roadmap is very vibrant and will differentiate us easily.”

The marketing spend in the first year is likely to be USD $2 Million.

The trade has shown an unprecedented enthusiasm for Fly phones, which can be seen from the fact that it is the first time that any new brand of mobile phones has been presold, and it reflects the attractive product value proposition of Fly.

Fly is known internationally for its distinctive, chic styling and features that appeal to all segments of the youth. Indeed in Europe, Fly has received a fantastic fan-following from the youngsters and commands a leading position in this segment. Fly has a range of models that are smart value and packed with features and have unique styling, which gives them a differentiated edge over other key players.

Meridian enjoys a 3-5% market share in the market we operate from. We aim to get the same market in India.

SERVICE SUPPORT
States Mr. Khanna, “At Meridian, we believe that superior sales service in an intrinsic part of our business model. For our mobile phones we have a tie-up with two blue chip service partners, AFL which is an affiliate of DHL worldwide for Logistics and Accel for after sales service, which has over 50 locations in India.”

Source- http://www.agencyfaqs.com

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