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Within just two years of its inception, smartphone maker Realme shipped over 50 million units. Of this, 6.3 million smartphones were shipped in just a month, from Oct 16 till Nov 15, 2020.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu, Realme’s Madhav Sheth, chief executive officer, India & Europe, explains what helped the brand to succeed. He also shares his views on Realme’s challenges, it's India-first approach, offline expansion plans, and readiness for the 5G race in India.
Edited excerpts of the interview below:
You surpassed Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and Xiaomi to become the world's first smartphone brand to ship 50 million units in just two years of its inception. What did you do differently?
Sheth: Our key user is the youth, and we engage with them through all possible online and offline channels like social media platforms or launch events. We avoid investing in random marketing activities. Agility is also another differentiator. We react fast to what our users and market require.
Can Realme sustain this momentum even as the government’s policy focus shifts to locally made products?
Sheth: India is our most important market, and I would like to highlight that all Realme smartphones are 100% manufactured in India. More than 60% of realme smartphones’ supplies are purchased and made in India. We have also recently started 100% manufacturing of our Smart TVs at our Greater Noida manufacturing facility. We are encouraging more of our suppliers and partners to open local factories in India. We are working towards strengthening our localisation strategies.
As 60% of your shipments is to India, does this show Realme is overly dependent on a single country?
Sheth: Not at all. Unlike other major smartphone brands, we started our operations here in India and gradually expanded our footprint to over 61 countries. India is our most important market, and therefore our product roadmap and strategy are deeply optimised for this market.
What were the challenges you faced in this pandemic affected year?
Sheth: Due to the lockdown in March and April, and the subsequent suspension of sales and manufacturing, we lost one and a half month’s volume in Q2. Local lockdowns also restricted movement of goods and disrupted supply chains. Our further expansion offline was always impacted to some extent. Additionally, there were several other factors that changed consumers’ purchasing behaviour, like the rate change, GST hike.
Realme shipped 6.3 million smartphone units just during this festival season. What made this possible?
Sheth: There was definitely an accumulated demand for smartphones due to the pandemic. Post lockdown, when we observed the growing demand for this particular segment, we revised our strategy to some extent and introduced new products such as the redefined Realme C series, the powerful Narzo 20 series, and the flagship Realme 7 series. It is also important to note that consumer purchasing behavior has undergone significant changes. Smartphones have become a necessity, and consumers are looking for feature-packed smartphones that fit well in their budget.
What are your growth plans for the Indian market? Are you planning an expansion in offline retail space as well?
Sheth: Realme started from online, but has offline presence as well. All our smartphone products are available in more than 35,000 offline stores in India. We will further expand our offline presence to let more low-tier users try our products. Moreover, we are planning a few flagship stores. We were aiming at 300 to 500 Realme exclusive smart stores in India. The pandemic impacted our offline expansion to some extent, but will catch up next year. We believe the offline shops are the backbone of the country’s retail business. We are boosting the distribution channels in India, especially in Tier-4 & Tier-5 cities. 2021 will also see us building Realme as a leading tech-lifestyle brand with more top-in-class AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) products. We are still working on the 2021 AIoT strategy and will be making some announcements soon. We are aiming to be among the top three in the smartphone, audio and wearable category.
How is Realme preparing for the 5G race in India?
Sheth: In 2020, Realme introduced India’s first 5G smartphone, Realme X50 Pro 5G, which is being used as one of the testing units by some carriers to test their 5G. As a brand constantly striving to bring the latest technology to its customers, we will be working on more 5G-enabled devices. We will be a democratiser of 5G in 2021. We will bring 5G technology in the Realme X7 series with Dimensity processors very soon, and then add more devices to our 5G portfolio.
