Every second mobile sold is a dual-SIM handset

Micromax beats Motorola, Sony Ericsson, LG, reaches third slot

Bhaskar Hazarika & Sanjeev Sharma

New Delhi: Every second mobile sold in the Indian market is a dual-SIM handset. Around 50 per cent of the mobiles sold in the Indian market are in the dual-SIM card handset category.

The handset market in India is attracting a large number of new vendors, taking the number of vendors from 8 to 56.

Citigroup report states, “The total number of new handset sold in India are about 9-10 million per month and multi-SIM subscribers to be 40-50 per cent of reported addition.” The report states that Nokia is leading the market, followed by Samsung and Micromax.

Incumbent handset vendors such as LG and Sony Ericsson are in the league.

According to market estimates Nokia has a market share of around 58 per cent, Samsung at 13 per cent and Micromax at 10 per cent. The mobile handset market is pegged at Rs 35,000 crore in 2010 and with the availability of entry-level cheap phones in the market, the market is likely to escalade.

Business director of Micromax Mobile, Vikas Jain told Financial Chronicle that in January the company sold 1 million handsets and the numbers are increasing. “We are clearly the third largest handset vendor in the market today. In January we sold 1 million handsets and within this fiscal ending March we are planning to sell around 11 million units. If we look at the consumer buying pattern 40 per cent of our customers are first time users and 60 per cent are upgrades,” Jain said.

At present the around new entrants have a market share of more than 15 per cent. The new entrants into this space include Micromax, Lava Mobiles, Karbonn, Mobell, Videocon, Movil and also some know brands such as Usha, Salora, Onida and Orpat.

The Indian handset industry shipped around 130 million units in 2009 and the numbers are likely to escalate to 150 million in 2010.

With Indian telecom industry adding between 15 to 17 million subscribers every month, analysts see space for new players in the market. Analysts say that these new entrants forecast huge competition primarily in the tier two and three markets. From the average price of a handset from Rs 5500 it has come down to Rs 2300, encouraging customers to switch to new handsets. Usually a lifeline of a mobile handset is estimated to be around 18 months.

© Financial Chronicle

Unbranded Chinese handset may be wiped out

30 new handset makers beeline in to India

New Delhi, Dec 27 2009

Bhaskar Hazarika

Unbranded Chinese handset likely to face death with the Indian mobile market flooded with more than 30 new handset makers. With 506 million subscribers in the country, the market is attracting entry of new players in the segment. In the present financial year, the market saw the entry of 25 new players.

The Indian handset industry shipped around 130 million units in 2009 and the numbers are likely to escalate to 150 million in 2010. According to industry estimates, the mobile handset market is pegged at Rs 35,000 crore in 2010.

Unlike the dominant handset makers such as Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG, the segment is witnessing entry of new handset brands, which are available at much cheaper costs with added features.

President of Indian Cellular Association, Pankaj Mohindroo said the growth in the mobile subscriber base has attracted the entry of new players in to the market. “There is a lot of space for entry of new players, which will ensure fair competition in it. Compared with the past couple of years the prices of handsets have come down reasonably. The average price of a handset has come down to Rs 2,300 from Rs 5,500 before,” he said.

Mohindroo said that the entry of affordable handsets in the market will hurt the grey market, which is flooded with unbranded Chinese brands. He said that availability of legal IMEI number on these brands is likely to have an impact on the unbranded handsets.

The new entrants into this space include Micromax, Lava Mobiles, Karbonn, Mobell, Videocon, Movil and also some known brands such as Usha, Salora, Onida and Orpat. According to market estimates, the new players have managed to attain 15 per cent market share.

Shashin Devsare, executive director of Jaina Group of Karbonn Mobiles, said, “We are competing in the GSM space, which is 8.5 to 10 million units per month. Affordable multimedia solution and features for subscribers is our business model. We are primarily targeting the tier II and III towns, where we see the next phase of growth.”

TV maker Salora has tied up with a Singapore-based mobile phone manufacturer, Mobell, to market its handsets in the country. Vice chairman and managing director of Salora, Gopal Jiwarajka, is of the view that the handset market will be robust for the next five to 10 years. “We are positioning our product for entry level and the replacement market, targeting the new subscriber base, who is a first time user. Usually the lifecycle of a handset is estimated to be around 18 months and there is a huge percentage of subscribers in the handset replacement category,” he added.

Managing director of LG Electronics, Moon B Shin, said there is space for new layers in the handset space. “The market is not saturated in this space. We have 6 per cent market share and are targeting 10 per cent next year. The market will witness entry of players and the ones that meet customer requirements will stand the competition,” he said.

© Financial Chronicle