Nokia keen on beefing up offline presence in South

TS Sridhar, GM, South & West, HMD Global says, “We have a clear-cut channel strategy. We work with online, the organised trade and brick and mortar stores. Today, we cover more than 1,10,000 outlets across India. Overall, online sales comprise 30 per cent of the market. The nature of business in TN is oriented more towards modern trade. As a market, it is one of the most important ones for the mobile industry. Thanks to the level of urbanisation, we have received an encouraging response for the brand in the state. Our growth rate in India has been 5x.” 

He adds, “Last year, across the globe, we sold around 70 mn phones. We launched in 80 countries and 170 markets globally. We are number 1 in feature phones globally. In India, we are focussing on the market as a significant chunk of users i.e. 50 per cent still own basic phones, and it’s a segment that is witnessing continuing growth. There are opportunities to increase Nokia’s share in this market. For the online space, there are some exclusive products that we launch. India used to be a market that was more concentrated on feature phones. US and China took the leap to smartphones a long time ago. Smartphone penetration in India is however on the rise, thanks to a burgeoning economy and the internet access.” 

Having made its foray into the premium category with the Nokia 7 Plus, priced at Rs 25,999 and the Nokia 8 at a whopping Rs 49,999, the company is keen on targeting customers across the spectrum with the smartphones range beginning from Rs 5,000 plus. The pre-booking for the premium range has also received an encouraging response from the Chennai market.