Obi Mobiles Targets 5 Percent Share of Indian Smartphone Market in a Year

Obi Mobiles India, which has just began operations in the country, is targeting to capture 5 percent of the smartphone market in its first year, an official of the company said.

"The company has started operations recently in India for selling Obi mobiles. In the first year we are targeting [to] capture 5 percent of the smartphone market," Obi Mobiles CEO Ajay Sharma said.

The expected turnover in the first year was Rs. 1,000 crore, he said. Sharma said in the smartphone segment, 70 per cent of the market belonged to handsets in the sub-Rs 12,000 range.

"We will address this segment where the users were in the age bracket of 16 to 35 years," he said.

He said the phones were being manufactured by the Chinese company, which was owned by US-based Inlfexionpoint, the holding company of Obi Mobiles.

After India, the brand would be marketed in the Middle-East, Africa and South America. The company began operations in India in April, saying it aims to expand the horizon of technology in the mid-range smartphone ecosystem by introducing affordable smartphones with superior technology.

The smartphone maker recently launched 5 new dual-SIM smartphones in India, all of which were introduced in the market in the month of August. The smartphones, namely S400, S450, S500, Python S452, and Wolverine S501, are available with select online and physical retail outlets in India. While the Obi Python S452 and S500 are both priced at Rs. 5,990, the S450, S400, and Wolverine S501 are priced at Rs. 4,990, Rs. 4,200 and Rs. 7,850 respectively.

Written with inputs from PTI