Hope to double India smartphones sale target in 2014: Victor Shan
http://www.business-standard.com/ar...arget-in-2014-victor-shan-113102800216_1.html
Chinese telecommunications equipment and services company, Huawei Technologies is confident of achieving its targeted sale of 100,000 smartphone units in India during 2013. The company has already achieved 80% of this target and hopes that the newly launched smartphone model Ascend P6 will give it a new momentum in the domestic market. Huawei has priced its Ascend P6, which the company claims is the world’s slimmest phone, at Rs 29,999 in India.
The Shenzhen-headquartered company’s President of India Devices Business Department, Victor Shan spoke to Itika Sharma Punit about the company’s plan to double its sales in India next year on the back of Ascend P6 launch, which has already received good reviews globally. Excerpts:
What is the reason for launching Ascend P6 in India?
We have launched the Ascend P6 in China, US, Europe and Japan, and have received a very good response. We have shipped more than 3 million units of Ascend P6 globally, and we have orders for another 2 million units. India as a market for smartphones is growing very fast. We already have an entry-level range of phone. But now, we want to let people know that Huawei is not just about low priced products, it is also a company that can bring better quality products that use better technology.
But India is a very price-sensitive market. Do you think the Ascend P6 will help you grow here, despite its premium pricing?
As per our understanding, Apple's sales in India increased sharply this year, and our product is still at a lower price point than an Apple phone. As the Indian economy is growing people are getting richer, which is leading to a growth in the premium products segment. So far, a majority of our sales for P6 have been in China, and we think India has an even better potential than China.
How do you plan to increase your market share for smartphones in India?
So far, our presence in India is majorly through set top boxes and data cards, but we hope that our smartphone sales will also pick up pace with the launch of the new model. Also, as of now our smartphone sale in India is more through partnerships with telecom service providers. But we now think we should go to the open market directly with our products. So next year we hope to increase our presence in the open market. We can continue to sell set top boxes and data cards through service providers, but our approach is to increase open market sales for the smartphones.
What are your targeted smartphone sales in India?
For 2013, our target is 100,000 units of smartphones, of which we have already achieved 80%. We are hopeful that with the launch of the Ascend P6, we will achieve our target for this year. For the next year, 2014, we are hoping to sell 200,000 units, of which we expect 15% will come from Ascend P6. So we hope to sell 30,000 units of Ascend P6 in India during 2014.
How do you plan to compete with other established players that have larger market share in India?
We have a local sales team in India and we are selling a series of products here already. Unlike some Chinese manufacturers which don’t offer good quality products and have poor after sales services, we have brought to India a smartphone that uses best technology. So we believe that the Ascent P6 will be our flagship product in that sense, and it will help us build a good branding. We want to let the Indian people know that Huawei is not just about low-cost products; we offer good quality, high-technology and premium products.
What is your outlook for the Indian smartphone market?
India is a huge market for smartphones. We have been in Indian market for more than 12 years, and we see a huge potential for smartphones here. This year, I think Indians will buy more than 30 million smartphone units, which I am sure will cross 40 million next year.
