Telecom Lead India: Zen Mobile, a brand of Telecare Group, is targeting Rs 500 crore revenue in 2013 from mobile business from Rs 325 crore in 2012.
Next year, smart devices will bring around 30 percent of its revenue against 7 percent currently. “The remaining 70 percent revenue will be from feature phones. We will be giving special focus on smart devices including smart phones and tablets,” Deepesh Gupta, managing director, Zen Mobile, told TelecomLead.com.
In order to achieve sales targets and server consumers better, the company is planning to introduce 6 tablets and 6 smartphones before March 2013.
Zen Mobile, which sells around 2.5-3 lakh handsets a month in India, is also planning to enter mobile markets such as Bangladesh and Africa. “Currently, we are in the planning stage. Launch Zen branded phones in Bangladesh will be early next year,” Gupta added.
Zen competes with phone majors such as Nokia and Samsung.
Recently, Gartner said mobile device sales in India are forecast to reach 251 million units in 2013, up 13.5 percent over 2012 sales of 221 million units. The mobile handset market is expected to show steady growth through 2016 when end user sales will surpass 326 million units.
“The Indian mobile phone market is very competitive with more than 150 device manufacturers selling devices to consumers. Most of these manufacturers remain focused on the low-cost feature phone market which still constitutes over 91 percent of overall mobile phone sales, offering a huge market to compete in,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner.
The increase in share of smartphone device sales, declining sales to first time buyers and the continuous focus of global manufacturers on the low cost feature phone market, has put many of the 150 plus local and Chinese device manufacturers under survival mode. Many of them are already struggling to maintain share in the growing market.
Zen CEO said the recent dollar fluctuations have affected several phone makers in India including Zen Mobiles. Despite pressure on margins, the company will focus on spending for improving quality of its products.
The emerging phone maker is also spending around 10 percent of its revenue for marketing. Zen will also be increasing its number of service centers across the country from the present 550 (30 owned outlets) in a bid to offer better services to mobile customers.
Zen is currently strong in North East markets. It will give more emphasize on West and Southern markets in coming months.
The company which recently launched Ultra Tablet A100 the affordable tablet for the Indian market, and is looking to benefit from its second tab Ultra Tablet A900 in the 9’ inch space along with a range of smart phones and feature phones.
According to a recent telecom news report in TelecomLead.com, Homeshop18, India’s virtual retail business, will introduce the product at a special price. “With the launch of the Zen UltraTab A900, we would again reiterate our commitment to the rapidly evolving tab market of the country, to deliver cutting edge technologies and top of the line product innovations,” Gupta added.
