Salman, Sachin venture into smartphone business

Salman Khan, who owns the ‘Being Human’ clothing brand, said, “We have just started our entry into the category, we need to be careful. If people buy our products and like them, we will see. We are starting the smartphones in small numbers and we hope to have minimum losses and maximum gain.” 

According to earlier reports, the superstar is targeting at the entry-to middle-level smartphone segment (which is anywhere between Rs 8,000Rs 20,000). 

Also getting into a similar business is Sachin Tendulkar, a strategic investor in the home-grown technology and Internet of Things (IoT) company Smartron. He recently launched the srt.phone. “For the smartphone to be successful, it will have to be different from the current offerings in the market. The differentiating can be on any of the software or hardware going into the phone. 

A price point of below Rs 10,000 will make the phone accessible to a number of users looking for an upgrade from a cheaper device,” Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, said. 

“It’s a two-way strategy for connecting with the youth and building a community. Firstly, smartphones somehow connect with today’s youth and creating such a product line connotes connecting with the youth community. 

Secondly, this will open up a channel for Salman’s fan club to access exclusive Salman content and go for huge content consumption,” Faisal Kawoosa, Principal Analyst (Telecoms) at CyberMedia Research (CMR), said. 

“Salman’s fan club will definitely give it a leg up but, in the long run, the brand needs to differentiate itself to stand out in the crowd,” added Krishna Mukherjee, another analyst with CMR.