LeEco Eyes FIBP Approval for Retail Stores in Next 2-3 Months

"We applied for it (permission) about three weeks back. We have had one meeting with the government after that, which has been very positive. So, we are hopeful that in the next two-three months, we should get it," LeEco India Smart Electronics Business Chief Operating Officer Atul Jain told PTI in Mumbai.

Last month, the smartphone maker had filed an application with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) for undertaking single brand retail trading of electronic products both through brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce portal.

The company Tuesday launched its Le 1s (Eco) smartphone at an introductory price of Rs. 9,999.

It will have a flash sale on May 12 and the company aims to sell 1 lakh units on Flipkart.

"We are hopeful of achieving it. After the flash sale also, we will be selling the phone but the quantity will depend on the response that we get," Jain added. Le 1s Eco supports nine Indian languages - Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali.

The company has partnered with ErosNow, YuppTv and Hungama Music to stream content.

The Le 1s (Eco) phones will come with an app called Le Vidi, powered by ErosNow, which allows users to watch movies, while Le Live powered by Yupp TV allows users to watch live TV.

Both the services will be available from May 24. It has tied up with Hungama Music which offers over 3.5 million songs in 25 languages and this service will be rolled out in the third quarter of 2016.

LeEco has sold 4 lakh phones since entering the country this year, of which flash sales accounted for 50-55 percent of the total sales.

LeEco currently sells phones through the online route but Jain said in the next two months, they will be available in multi-brand outlets as well.

The company also plans to sell its smart TVs in the country from June end.