Micromax aims to go global and high-end - Economic Times

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Micromax, which has become the country's No. 2 smartphone brand just five years after selling its first handset - an approx. Rs 1,800 made-in-China model - is looking to go upmarket and overseas.

The unlisted company sold 6.8 million phones in the July-September quarter including 2.2 million smartphones, and is on track to surpass $1 billion in sales in the fiscal year ending in March.

With heavy advertising and phones based on Google Inc's Android software starting at approx. Rs 3,000 - almost half the price of a comparable Samsung model - Micromax has brought smartphones to the masses in a price-sensitive market where basic handsets still dominate.

Among all types of phones, Micromax ranks third in India after Nokia and Samsung Electronics.

The company, which started out selling IT software and telecoms gear, entered the handset market with cheap phones featuring bigger screens, and the capability to use two SIM cards so customers can take advantage of bargains from competing carriers - a feature Nokia was slow to match.

Now Micromax is looking to broaden its market by wooing brand-conscious Indians with more spending power. In October, it rolled out a Rs 19,000 "phablet" with a 5-inch screen promoted by "Wolverine" star Hugh Jackman - an unusual choice in a country where Bollywood actors and cricket stars are the preferred brand ambassadors.

In January, it will begin selling phones in Russia, followed by Romania, where competitors also include Samsung and Nokia. UK-based Fly also sells China-made phones in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Micromax has also tried to tap the Brazilian and the Middle Eastern markets with basic phones, but did not manage to build scale and closed the operations.

Industry watchers say Micromax, which is backed by private equity firms TA Associates and Sequoia Capital, has its work cut out pushing into pricier segments dominated by global brands and building its brand from scratch in new markets.

"Operators worldwide are already flooded with choices from other low-cost Asian Android smartphone players," said Neil Mawston, a UK-based executive director at Strategy Analytics.

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