India is a land of disruption. With a technology driven consumer-base and dozens of smartphone markers (both Indian as well as international), the country has inch passed the USA to stand as the second largest smartphone market across the globe. While the smartphone market is ruled by biggies like Apple and Samsung, some new entrants such as Gionee have successfully managed to carve a strong branding in the country.
As of today, Gionee stands 5th amongst the top smartphone brands with a market share of around 5 per cent. Now, the Chinese-smartphone maker, with a whole new push in its branding and distribution strategies, is aiming to become the third largest smartphone brand in the country.
In a candid conversation with Retailer Media, Gionee’s Country CEO & MD, Anand Vohra shared his plans towards pushing Gionee smartphones in every nook and corner of the country. He also spoke about Gionee’s recent partnership with an IPL team and other endeavours to tap growing Indian smartphone market.
Please share your background. Your education and whether entrepreneurship was something you always wanted to do?
I head Gionee’s Business in India. As Director of Syntech Technology Pvt. Ltd, I am the India Partner to Gionee’s overseas arm Syntech Technology (HK) Ltd. My role and prime focus as a Partner is to build the business.
At Gionee I have been constantly building the Sales & Distribution Infrastructure with a keen eye on Brand Building and making a Robust Support Services Network. Believes that India Market is Distribution Mature and the Digital Domain will be a key driver to brand building given YOUTH as the key consumer. From being an avid consultant to a Serial Entrepreneur, I have been in the mobile technology industry for almost 12 years.
How was the idea Gionee conceptualized? How has been the journey so far?
Established in 2002, Gionee Communication Equipment Co. Ltd is a hi-tech company engaging in mobile device designing, R&D, manufacturing, sales in international markets, and mobile internet application services. Today, Gionee sells over 23 million handsets per year worldwide and ranks No.10 in the world by smartphone market share. In 2006, the first phase of the project had a total investment of more than 1Billion RMB and covers an area of 500 acres of the Gionee Industrial Park. Production reached a capacity of 40 million units per year and will reach 80 million units per year, making Gionee China’s largest mobile phone production site.
Talk to us about the new brand identity with Kolkata Knight Riders.
At Gionee what matters to us the most is bringing smile on people’s face which depicts the entire idea of having the new logo. We at Gionee took the bold step to make our messaging clear to our customers. Gionee is extremely happy to announce its new logo with team KKR who we are title sponsor to. We have unveiled logo globally at MWC early this year and recently announced the same at Kolkata which marks the India announcement. The Logo clearly speaks of our purpose of “Making Smile” and hope we do our duties well.
As a lot of CDIT brands are going Omni-channel these days, how to plan to compete the biggies of Smartphone market
We are already omni present. We started out with our retail outlets initially but with the time moved on to the online channels and now Gionee as a brand is everywhere. We are present with all the major online e commerce portals like Flipkart, Snapdeal we have also tied up Hot Spot Croma and many other leading consumer durable chains.
How has been the response from you online channels? What is the future roadway of Smartphone industry when it comes to online buying?
Scaling up its service, Gionee has tied up with online shopping website Snapdeal.com, for an exclusive deal to sell Gionee ELIFE E8 online. Gionee very strategically chose to tie-up with Snapdeal as the time was perfect for Gionee to take the online route and reach out to its consumers for a premium handset like the E8. Gionee also has a stint with Flipkart with the launch of Marathon M5. We are more or less there in almost all the major electronic goods online shopping portals. The world has advanced and so have the people and their mindset.
Earlier people were under the conception of buying an electronic device or goods only from trusted stores but now, thanks to the latest technology advancement which has brought in a trust factor among the people in buying consumers durables from online portals. The trust factor has rather increased over a period of time. Online channels are the present and the future. We have received a fair response in terms of our online sell of products and look forward to better number with the beginning of each year.
What potential you see in tier II and III cities of the country when it comes to smartphones?
These cities are gradually becoming the key markets for the smartphones. We see the brand loyalists and the experimenter both in these cities. People are not skeptic about trying out new gadgets. They like experimenting with the technology and are open to learning more from it. On the other hand we also find our best and consistent buyers from these cities. They are loyal towards the brand and that happily makes them a part of Gionee family. We are very thankful to all out tier II & III distributors and customers for believing in us and taking us to this stature. So far we have received a tremendous response from cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur amongst the others from the Rajasthan belt.
Share with us some numbers such as revenue, fiscal targets, sale proportion (online vs offline)
At present, the market share of Gionee is around 5 per cent in India and we are targeting a market share of 7-8 per cent in India this fiscal. To meet this, the company will heavily focus on retail presence in the Indian market. Gionee started its operation in India three years ago and had generated revenue of Rs 3,200 crore last fiscal.
What has been your A-ha Moment in the business? (The high point)
The best A ha point I can think of at the moment is when we as a brand was able to change people’s perception about Chinese brands. We were the first to enter India in terms of selling Chinese smart phone and we take proud moment for that. That was the time when Chinese products were perceived in a different fashion. We really take an onus to that ah ha moment we will always preserve for life. There are many more moments to add to add to that but this reason will always be close to us.
What has been your biggest challenge so far in scaling -up? How are you addressing it?
The biggest challenge so far has been getting people to believe in us as a brand. But never the less we were able to convert our challenge into our opportunity and have been able to create a niche for ourselves and garner the trust of our consumers.
How do you see growth scenario in this business? What are your future scale-up plans?
The growth scenario in the smart phone business looks very positive to me. The industry is only seen growing over the years. There is a constant change and up gradation in terms of technology and advancement. The dynamic nature of the industry makes us believe in the business growth the most. Hoping we keep up to the pace of the development and bring out the best of technology boxed in a form of a smart phone.
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