Mobile handset maker realme is targeting a 20 per cent growth in sales of smartphones in India in 2022 . In an exclusive interaction with BusinessLine, Madhav Sheth, Chief Executive Officer for realme, said, “Last year we grew by 20 per cent, this year our objective is to grow by 20 per cent as well.”
Sheth said that realme has added on other chipset suppliers besides Qualcomm and MediaTek to overcom supply chain issues plaguing the smartphone industry. Given the supply chain issues, Sheth said that realme plans to expand to new markets globally in the near term. Currently, realme is present in 60 countries, where the company will focus on driving growth.
Tech know-how
Despite not being a beneficiary of the government-led production linked incentive scheme, realme rose to the 2 nd position in sales in Q4 for CY2021 according to Counterpoints Research. Sheth credits the technology know how and service capabilities of the brand to drive consumer preference.
“Incentives (PLI) are not the only factor driving pricing of the phones. Quality and technology know-how are also needed to increase phone sales” Sheth explained.
“Without naming brands which are local….. We have seen customers queuing and waiting for phones to get repaired for more than 12-15 days (for these brands). That is because of no technology know-how,” said Sheth.
According to Sheth, 100 per cent of realme handsets are assembled in India, while 60-70 per cent of components are manufactured in India.
“We seek to bring as much localisation as we can with or without government incentive,” he said.
5G focus
With 5G rollout expected in 2023, Seth said that the company is committed to have a product portfolio out of which 50 per cent of the models will be 5G enabled.
“The typical replacement cycle of the phone is 18-24 months. Hence, consumers buying the phone now need to be future ready,” said Sheth.
realme announced the launch of its GT 2 Series as part of its debut at the Mobile World Congress.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 powered realme GT 2 Pro will be priced starting €649 (₹54,850), and the Snapdragon 888 powered realme GT 2 will start at €449 (₹38,000) in early-bird sales.
R&D in advanced technologies
After debuting the realme GT 2 series in Europe at MWC, the premium flagship will be introduced across other markets such as India, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America in the upcoming months.
“To go premium, we will invest more than 70 per cent of the company’s R&D resources in exploring advanced technologies in display, fast charging and 5G-related performance to provide users with top-tier flagship experiences,” Sheth said
(The writer is in Barcelona at the invitation of realme)
Published on
February 28, 2022
