Huawei Targets 10 Percent Share of Offline Mobile Sales in India

Following traction to its online sales with Honor brand devices, Chinese telecom major Huawei said on Sunday it will strengthen its offline presence and capture 10 percent share in the segment with its Huawei series smartphones by mid-2016.

"We have already 10 percent market share in online market with Honor series. We have realised that out of 10, eight people buy phone offline. Hence we are going offline with Huawei series smartphones. We should be able to capture 10 percent in this segment by mid-2016," Huawei Telecommunications India Director Sales (Devices Business) P Sanjeev told PTI.

The company has set target to sell 20 lakh (2 million) Honor devices this year. Huawei has sold 5 lakh units of Honor devices which include 2 lakh units sold since March.

Huawei has partnered with retail chains Croma, Sangeetha, and Reliance Digital, plus the company is further revamping its national call centre to strengthen its service for India customers.

"China is still a big market for us but it is flattening. India is growing at 50 percent rate for our smartphones business. India is a must-win market. It has a special focus team from China," Sanjeev said.

He said that In comparison to its sales in the last quarter of 2014, Huawei has witnessed 10 times growth numbers for smartphones in Indian in the first half of 2015 through its brand Honor.

"To boost our offline sales, we have plans to open an exclusive brand store and customer service experience centres in Delhi NCR, Bangalore, and Chennai to induct consumers about the never before features and technologies," Sanjeev said.

The company has launched smartphones in the range of Rs. 5000 - 9,500 per unit for offline market and this month add 4G tablet with 8-inch display to its portfolio priced below Rs. 15,000.

He said that company has firmed up discussions with leading retailers which account for 60-70 percent market share in offline sales.

"We will expand our offline sales and support in 16 top cities of country this year and expand gradually to other cities," Sanjeev said.