With surge in smartphone growth in recent times, the battle among smartphone brands have intensified to grab maximum opportunity. COMIO also started its operation in Year 2017 and also began local assembling through contract manufacturers- V-Sun and Hipad Technology. This step towards local manufacturing further reinforces their commitment for government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. Sanjay Kalirona, CEO & Director, COMIO Smartphones talks to DT about their market plans.
DT: What have been the crucial milestones of your company during year 2017?
Mr. Sanjay: We have received an overwhelming response for our smartphones in a very short span of time. Within 3 months of our launch, Comio have sold more than 250k devices in market. This has encouraged us to start our local manufacturing in India as well through contract manufacturing with V-Sun and HiPad Technology. COMIO smartphones are available across all major dealers in North and West India. Also, we are planning to enter the East and South markets next year. In terms of smartphone variants, our first launch was with three handsets S1, C1, and P1. And within two months we have launched another new variant named C2.
DT: How do you the overall expected growth for smartphone market in India? What are the major fuelling factors?
Mr. Sanjay: The market is expected to continue to grow over the next few years as more and more people are switching to smartphones and gradually upgrade to 4G-enabled phones. The growth is fuelled by availability of low-cost smart phones, low rates of data plans and development of smart cities in rural areas.
DT: What is the biggest challenge for mobile players in India?
Mr. Sanjay: One of the biggest challenge for mobile smartphone players in a highly cluttered market is to carve a niche for themselves. Reaching out to their target audience and engaging with them one a one-on-one level is critical and can be challenging as well. Right from the beginning, we at COMIO, were very clear that we are a mid-segment smartphone brand for the youth. Therefore, all our activations and campaigns are centred around the youth community in India.
DT: What's your distribution strategy currently in India? How do you plan to boost channel strength in year 2018?
Mr. Sanjay: With a strong network of partners we are reaching consumers across the country. We plan to have 30,000 retailers and 800 distributors to strengthen brand presence in the market. We are also running a program of distributors meet & training that will perfect them in learning about the science that goes behind creating these products. Providing experience with the expertise of in-shop demonstrators, detailing the product specifications are all a part of selling products and via these partners, at COMIO we will make sure that we give them special schemes to motivate and sustain their performance. We are investing 100 crores across Sales, Distribution, Service, and Operational Expenses.
DT: How do you assure your customer excellent service support?
Mr. Sanjay: COMIO has a very strong after sales service, wherein they are offering 30 days DOA, 1Year+100 Days extra warranty, Buyback offer, Upgrade Offer, One time screen replacement within six months to support their customers. With a strong base of customer service support which many brands strive to achieve, we plan to build a network of 800+ service touch points held by an even stronger built up of 800+ distributors.
DT: Please share your current revenue and market growth rate. What is target for year 2018?
Mr. Sanjay: COMIO aims to have a 10-12% market share within the mid-segment smartphone category. Our aim is to position COMIO as a strong emerging brand in the smartphone segment. At COMIO, we plan to invest close to INR 500 crores for 1.5 years (July 2017 – December 2018). The revenue figures are 2017-18: 500 Cr., 2018-19: 2000 Cr. And 2019-20: 4000 Cr.
