Panasonic aims to produce and sell over 3 million smartphones this yea

Japanese technology firm, Panasonic aims at Rs 2000 crore turnover in the country this year, a top executive has said.

Pankaj Rana, Business Head, Mobility Division, Panasonic India, told IANS, "We have always wanted to be in the top 10 brands in India. However, we are currently targeting sixth/seventh spot in the next six months to one year's time, eyeing Rs 2000 crore as turnover."

He added, "Distribution is our core strength and currently 80 per cent of the business comes from our distribution channel network and 20 per cent from the online channel. Going forward, we believe online will grow up to 30 per cent."

Last year, the company had nearly Rs 1400 crore in turnover, with sales of nearly two million smartphones in the country. This year, Panasonic aims to produce and sell 3-3.5 million smartphones.

Rana said, "Although the Indian market is now dominated by Chinese players, the good thing is that Panasonic has built a brand and customers want to remain associated with us. We are pitching Japanese product innovation and quality which is giving us good advantage in the market."

To further strengthen its position in the industry, Panasonic has joined the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon , a technology which, in the future, will shape the product interface and the way we interact with our devices.

According to Rana, Panasonic is doing well in the northern region and this year, the company hopes to increase its penetration in the southern and eastern parts of the country.

Before the festive season, the company is set to lauch 10 new smartphones for its offline channel and five new smartphones for the online channel, in the price band of Rs 5000 to Rs 20000.

Rana said, "We have a very strong product roadmap for the next six months and will keep enhancing our position as an intelligent phone maker in the market by bringing in new features. This will be the key success mantra for Panasonic as we go further."