Tell us something about the genesis of your mobile phone? Also give us an idea about the product portfolio that your company offers?
Intex started off with the mobile phone business around two years back. It was initially launched in the markets of Rajasthan and Haryana and then gradually increased its footprints to the rest of India.

Currently, we have 20 handsets in our product portfolio, 70% of which are primarily in the domain of Dual SIM segment. We offer a wide array of mobile phones keeping the affordability factor into consideration. Because the usage and benefits of the phones will come in after this factor is addressed. We have recently added QWERTY keypad handsets as well as touchscreen phones to our portfolio. Hence, we are enhancing our Dual SIM portfolio and still thinking of doing it further by introducing a WiFi-enabled phone with a QWERTY keypad. A couple of 3G phones are also in the pipeline.

What is the price difference between your entry-level and high- end handsets and what is the difference in their features?
Our high-end handsets are priced at around Rs.5,500, while our entry- level phones start from a price band of Rs.2,200, stretching to Rs.3,000. When we talk of their features, an entry-level phone is like any basic phone having a VGA camera, a Bluetooth, a long-lasting battery, FM, MP3 player and so on. On the other hand, a high-end phone features a dual SIM, an expandable memory of 2GB, a large screen size, higher resolution in camera, slider, touchscreen, etc.

Do you import handsets from China or do you have your own manufacturing units in the country?
It is a process which is being followed. The customization part for the handsets is carried out in India by which we try to understand the market that we are addressing and do the analysis based on the customer’s feedback. Post research, we shortlist different vendors by whom we get our handsets manufactured, based on the customization we have researched. Our testing team based in India develops the entire software. However, we are also exploring the possibility of assembling mobile phones in our country instead of doing that in China. So, that is an option we are keeping it open for the time being.  We have a 12-member R&D team here in India.

Tell us about your presence in the country? What kind of market and media strategy do you adopt?
As far as our distribution wing is concerned, we have a huge network of 180+ distributors operating across the country, pertaining only to the telecom sector and not selling any of our other product category. We are gradually planning to scale this number as we are approaching the new financial year. We are also associated with 9,200 resellers who help us in conducting our business in terms of reselling and selling to the customers. Currently, we have a pan-India presence and are emerging as leading players in the Northern and Southern parts of the country. We are thinking of having a similar kind of presence in Southern and Eastern India as well. But this is all the more related to our presence in the B & C class cities or, to be precise, non-metros.

In terms of marketing and media strategies, we undertake various online activities which encourage participation from our customers. The electronic media becomes a vital channel for us to connect with our customers. A TVC designed on the recently launched “Do Dilwale” phone had the convenience factor as its USP and was premiered for the first time during the festive season. We are also spending a good amount of fortune on the technological aspect, keeping in mind the availability and the need factor of our users. So, this is the route we are looking at as of now.

How do you see the current competition from other rivals in the market?
The competition is heating up as more number of mobile phones brands are coming into the market. A similar kind of situation was witnessed when TV first penetrated into the Indian market with many brands like Videocon and BPL which vied with each other to position themselves.

Likewise, in today’s scenario, every mobile phone company is trying to consolidate its position and trying out every possible option to lure the customers to its side. Our company has taken great care of this particular fact and, as I have mentioned, we are investing a huge sum in terms of technology, be it on design or software, so that we are able to offer something different to our customers.

What kind of service support do you have?
We have around 65 company-owned service centres in operation across India, followed by 251 franchisee-based service centres, available 24x7 for our customers.

The same punch line and logo “Intex – demand more” goes for your mobile phone division as well?
Intex is the brand name and the mobile phone is another product line under the umbrella. Since we carry different product lines under this brand, we chose to keep it same for the mobile phones as well.  The Brand “Intex” covers six different business segments comprising of Computer Peripherals, PCs, Mobile Phones, Consumer Electronics, Retail and Enterprise Business.