Panaji: Chinese telecom firm Huawei is looking to start selling Honor smartphones through traditional retail stores to widen its reach while Flipkart will continue to be its exclusive partner for online sales.
"We are seriously contemplating an omnipresence sales channel strategy to expand our reach to customers. We get 75 per cent of our sales from top 35 cities. We have to make a plan to reach them out as everyone doesn't buy online," Huawei Telecommunications India Director Sales P Sanjeev told PTI.
Huawei started selling Honor smartphones in India through Flipkart about a year ago.
"We may follow an omnipresent strategy and will strengthen presence through retail channels in India, but Flipkart will continue to be the exclusive e-commerce partner for Honor," he clarified.
The change in strategy is part of Huawei's growth plan for 2016. Top management at Huawei headquarters wants to triple the sales of Honor smartphones in India to about 5 million, but the Indian team is yet to firm up the plan for the actual target.
"Our headquarters want us to triple sales in India to capture 10 per cent market share in the smartphone segment. We are working on our business plan and strategy to determine deliverables. It should be finalised by next month," Sanjeev said.
He added that Honor expects to sell 1.5-2 million units by the end of this year.
Huawei has restarted selling Huawei brand smartphones in India through retail stores.
Sanjeev said going forward, Huawei will launch only select devices so that it does not clash with Honor smartphones if they are sold offline.
As part of growth strategy in India, Huawei has already assigned 10 per cent of its Indian research and development team to develop Honor product suitable for the Indian market. "Now, we have completed about one year and understood our customer. We have a clear picture now... We listen to our customers through social media network, read feedback on Flipkart and grievances," Sanjeev added.
He said funds will not be an issue for its growth plan here. Honor brand sells in India, China, Russia, Germany, Mexico, Japan and Dubai.
The company also has plans to expand its product portfolio in the country by launching 2-3 models more by the end of this year.
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