Chinese telecom major ZTE, which so far has been selling its mobile handsets in tie-up with various mobile operators in India, has now entered the retail market to increase its sales. Eyeing the fast-growing mobile handset market, ZTE will be marketing its handsets through wide retail network and multi-brand stores.
ZTE, which has so far sold over 2.5 crore handsets in India, has begun its retail foray with the launch of five budget models priced between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 4,000 and plans to introduce a wide range of handsets, including hi-end multimedia phones. “With this retail launch, we hope to increase our handset sales from 16 per cent to 20 per cent. We plan to have a network of at least one-lakh retail outlets throughout the country by the end of 2009,” said ZTE India Chairman and Managing Director D. K. Ghosh.
Asserting that India was a key focus market for ZTE, Mr. Ghosh said: “We have one of the strongest after-sales service network with over 250 service centres across India. The new initiative will play a critical role in furthering our existing market share in the country. We are focussed on providing great products at competitive pricing to Indian consumers”.
The company is set to distribute its mobiles through Overseas Mobiles Private Limited. Arshit Pathak, Director, Overseas Mobiles, said, “We are proud to be a partner of ZTE Corporation and deeply humbled by ZTE’s decision to appoint Overseas Mobiles as the national distributor for India and look forward to a mutually successful relationship”.
ZTE, which has appointed Overseas Mobiles as its national distributor for mobile and data devices, had already crossed revenues worth $1 billion. India is the second-largest market for the telecom equipment manufacturer after China. India contributes around 10 per cent of the company’s global revenues.
