Intex aims "to make sure products are  available to consumers at all times"

Sanjay Kumar Kalirona Mobile Business Head Intex Technologies The indigenous handset-maker, Intex has come a long way in the mobility market. It has already strengthened its foothold in the feature phone market and is now planning to enter into the tablet segment. Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Mobile Business Head, Intex Technologies, besides disclosing the future plans of the company reveals the current market situation, trends and strategies of the company. India’s Smart device market In a thriving market, Intex is witnessing great demand from the masses. Since its inception, the company has registered a healthy growth rate. Currently, Intex has 5-per cent market share in the smartphone industry and around 8 per cent in the feature phone. It is selling around 15 lakh phones per month, out of which 10 lakh are feature phones and 5 lakh are smartphones. By the end of March 2014, Intex had doubled its revenue to Rs.2,000 crore, backed by a 300-per cent jump in the handset business. Intex is aiming at hundred per cent growth this year and also expecting a revenue growth of Rs.2,800 crore in the mobile category. Speaking on tablets, Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, Mobile Business Head, Intex Technologies, says, “The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms have impacted the tablet market. Due to the compulsory registration issue, many entry-level tablet-makers could not release their products in the market, which affected the sales initially. The market for low-cost tablets is growing fast where lower-priced Android-powered tablets have been gaining traction. Also, now the norms/regulations of BIS are same as that of smartphones. Hence, the tablet market is picking up again.” He adds, “Intex is ready to foray into the tablet market by the end of the second quarter. The tablet market is stable. Hence, it is right time to capture the market.” Trends in Mobility market Nowadays, the trend has shifted from small screen to large screen along with 64 bits chipset and big memory to satisfy the user’s demand. In other words, getting high-end specification at an inexpensive price and unique multimedia experience is making phablets widely acceptable. Another consideration, which is the key factor in the Indian market, is the pricing of these devices. There are already phablets selling for sub-Rs.10,000 and there are a great number of mid-range options for those who are planning to buy a smaller smartphone or a larger tablet. Service Support Strategy In India, everybody wants everything at a very affordable price and has used its expertise to create a unique space having unmatched quality, distribution and pan-Indian service network in the Indian market. The company has over 800 service centres across the nation. "If the present customer is satisfied, then only potential customers will believe as the word of mouth is very important. Our service network is present in almost every district and even at the tehsil level," he says. Success pillars of Intex The Intex feature phones are one of the strong pillars of Intex’s mobile business. The company has started manufacturing them in India as well. Making available the product to the consumer is the objective of the company and for that it needs a flawless distribution network. Its distribution strategy is simple: to make sure products are made available to the consumers at all times. Intex has been recording high growth over the years and its distribution network is spread all across India. Sales are routed through a distribution network comprising 1,100+ distributors and 50,000+ dealers spread across the country. Products are also available at more than 250 dedicated counters of reputed hypermarket chains and speciality stores across the country, on TV shopping channels and e-commerce sites. Future Roadmap The company's short-term goal is to be among the top five brands in India and in the longer run it aims to become one of the top players in the Indian mobile market. While its vision is to make Intex a globally respected name, the approach is to work towards improving the quality of life of consumers by providing them superior quality handsets at unique price points. aparna@varindia.com