Amid reports of layoffs leading to speculation of LeEco’s possible exit from India, the Chinese electronic firm said it remained committed to the Indian market and is revamping its strategy with an eye on turning profitable within a year.
The company has also dropped plans to open exclusive offline products store for now.
“India is one of the most strategic markets for LeEco,” Alex Li, group vice president and COO LeEco India said. “We will definitely not exit. We will continue to launch new products, service existing customers and acquire new ones. Yes, we did have some change in strategy, but we want to have a consistent and sustainable business in India. This is a long-term strategy.”
Mr. Li has recently been given the charge to head India operations after Atul Jain, who was chief operating officer, resigned amid lay-offs. While it was reported that the firm had fired 85% of its India staff, it could not be confirmed.
“We are focussing on executing a new strategy, make processes more streamlined…For those products where we are losing money, we need a way to balance… balance like accessories or content which can bring in revenues to compensate the loss of the product. We are looking at this. Besides, we are working on improving overall efficiency. We will not over invest and [will] look at more structured and planned strategy,” Mr. Li said.
He added that India as a market also presents an opportunity for other businesses that the company is into and other products will soon be brought to India. In 2016, the company sold 1.25 million smartphones and 12,000 smart TVs in India, with a turnover of ₹1400 crore. Asked about profitability, he said, “Profitability will take some time…I believe within one year we will be able to turn around things.”
He added that the company will launch a new product every quarter to keep excitement for the brand.
The company on Saturday launched three new smart TVs under Super 4 series priced at ₹46,990 (for 40 inch), ₹63,990 (for 43 inch) and ₹86,990 (for 50 inch). The smart TV market over 40-inch is about one million in India. Le Eco is eyeing double digit market share in the country.
