ZTE targets 6,000 retails outlets for its smartphones

Targeting 6,000 retails outlets in India, ZTE India, a Chinese telecom equipment company is aiming $800 mn revenues in 2014. $500 mn is expected to come from equipment business and $300 mn from its terminal business that includes handsets and other mobility devices. The company inaugurated its first exclusive experience zone in Gurgaon and will invest $10 mn in marketing and branding in India.

On the inauguration of ZTE's first experience zone,. Xu Dejun, CEO, ZTE India, said, "While online purchasing is fast picking up in the country, there is still a large Indian audience which prefers to have a hands-on experience of the product before making any purchasing decision. The ZTE exclusive zone in Gurgaon will also showcase the company's limited edition smartphones, data cards and accessories. The company will will continue to invest aggressively in our terminals business."

ZTE clocked 10.1 mn unit shipments in smartphones in Q2 of 2013 and 15 mn mobile phones in the same quarter. ZTE had recently launched 6 new smartphones in the open market in the price range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000.

Yuang Kang, vice president, terminal added " ZTE will leverage its strong position in the global smartphone market to develop products focused on three key segments: 4G, high-end devices, and phones based on newer platforms such as latest Android, Windows and the Firefox operating system. ZTE India will also continue to focus on strengthening its 4G: TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, bearer and transmission network, FTTH, medium-sized / Enterprise businesses and cloud computing in the next year".

Speaking to The DQ Week, Sudhir Gaur, director, Terminal Sales said " Currently, we have established presence in Western and Southern states including Madhya Pradesh, Gujrat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh and by Q1 2014 channel partners would be appointed pan-India." On a retail expansion drive, the company will set up retail outlets in top 35 cities.

Pune based Calyx Telecommunications, has been appointed as the national partner for its handset business and HCL infosystems handles the distributions of its data cards. ZTE enjoys a market share of 63.04% in data card market and managed about 1.2% in feature phone market. ZTE aims to sell 1.5 mn to 2 mn smartphones in the open market in the next 2- 3 years. ZTE has tied up with various home shopping TV channels apart from being present on e-commerce portals and will soon open its own online store aimed at the growing consumer base.

ZTE clocked 10.1 mn unit shipments in smartphones in Q2 of 2013 and 15 min mobile phones in the same quarter.

Amit Saxena, director, marketing added " ZTE India will launch a unique model of door to door service for providing service to its smartphone customers in major cities of India. With 10% of revenue investment being put in R&D, ZTE has its first manufacturing and repair facility in Manesar . "By Q1 2014, we will launch handsets with more localized apps, including cloud, entertainment, infotainment and utilities. Later, we plan to launch our own ZTE app store and ZTE cloud,' said Saxena.

"90% of our Indian market share currently comes from 4G equipment, data cards and CPEs that we have been providing to Airtel and only 5% is pegged from its terminal business . Going forward in 2014 and 2015, we are in talks with four-five operators to get into the 4G business," informed Saxena.

Being in the country over 13 years, ZTE entered the managed services space with MTS after service contracts. After the country's first 4G network in Kolkata, the company has now contributed to the 4G expansion in the Punjab with Airtel. ZTE India had a sales revenue of $400 mn until October 2013 and has a customer base of over 36 million terminals users in the country. .
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