Handset maker Lava has drawn up plans to increase its market share by more than six times in the next 12-18 months, said a senior official.
“Currently, we have a market share of 6% to 7%,” said Gaurav Nigam, head — product, Lava International Ltd. “We would like to dominate the sub-₹12,000 segment by acquiring over 40% [share] in almost all the markets in which we operate.”
‘Increasing reach’
He said the firm had invested in research and development in India and China. The focus now was on sales and distribution, with plans to double the distribution network, bring down the number of models and focus on buyers in tier 2 towns and rural areas.
Lava, which had about 50 models, brought it down to 13 based on feedback from a Chennai-based dealer. “Today, we have five smart phones and eight feature phones in our portfolio. It will not increase, but might get reduced to 10,” he said.
According to him, feature phones reported a compound annual growth rate of 66% accounts from FY12-16, while smartphones 248%.
The company had sold more than 10.8 crore handsets in the period. He added Lava had capacity to produce three million phones a month at two facilities in Noida. It is also setting up a facility in Tirupathi, for which the civil work would commence soon.
“Lava is aiming to unveil the first ‘Designed in India’ smartphone by October, 2018. Besides, it is working towards designing and manufacturing the entire range of Lava mobiles in India by 2021,” he said.
On the exports front, he said the products were sent to 11 countries, including Africa and Egypt.
