HTC To Expand Footprint In India Through Large Franchise Retail Chain Stores

HTC has announced that its plans to strengthen and expand its Indian operations in order to support future growth in the Indian smartphone market. As part of its efforts, HTC will be working with its national fulfillment distribution partner, Brightpoint India and new dedicated distribution partner for modern trade, Ingram Micro to increase its efforts in large franchise retail chain stores. HTC will focus on intensifying retail efforts across national, regional and local tiers, and also developing a comprehensive user experience for Indian modern trade channels.

"India's unique geography, culture and consumer culture create a complex retail environment that requires a deep understanding of local retailers and consumer needs," said Jack Tong, vice president, HTC Asia Pacific. "HTC is focusing on offering customers a better retail experience that fully represents what the HTC brand stands for."

HTC will also extend its reach into the modern trade segment, while continuing to forge strong ties with regional distributors and its Preferred Authorized Retailers (PAR). It will also expand its PAR network by offering a greater variety of retail branding resources. In addition, more intensive product and sales training will be offered to all HTC retailers, ambassadors and in-store retail staff.

As part of its growth plans, HTC intends to expand its distributor network at both the regional and local level. It plans to grow this network from the current 25 to 50 Tier 2 cities, and enlarge its footprint to a total of 100 Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by July 2011. HTC will also provide greater marketing and logistics assistance to all distributors as it builds a strong infrastructure to support the expected growth in the India smartphone market.

"We are taking the necessary steps to build a stronger, wider and more stable national infrastructure that will better support our retailers from the national through to the local level," said Ajay Sharma, Country Manager, HTC India. "This will enable HTC to deliver a consistent branding experience and enhancement of our retail capabilities."

Future potential of the Indian smartphone market

According to Gartner, smartphone sales in India made up 5.2 percent of total device sales in the first quarter of 2010, and Gartner expects this share to increase to 18 percent in 2014. In addition, smartphone sales to end users accounted for 19 percent of worldwide mobile device sales in Q2 2010, an increase of 50.5 percent from the second quarter of 2009. HTC has also entered the list of top 10 worldwide mobile phone manufacturers for the first time according to Gartner's latest report.

"The global smartphone market is poised for tremendous growth over the next three years, and HTC's focus on innovation and listening to the customer places us squarely at the forefront of that evolution." said Tong.

Tags:HTC, Telecom Franchise, Brightpoint India, Ingram Micro, Jack Tong, Ajay Sharma, HTC India, HTC Franchise, Electronics Franchise, phone store franchise.

Source:Cellular News/19 Aug 2010.


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Canon To Open 6 'Prozone' outlets through franchise model in all major cities of India.

Leading digital imaging company Canon India will open six outlets in various cities in the country over the next few months. According to the Canon India Senior Vice-President Alok Bhardwaj, these outlets name 'Prozone' will display its 160 products under one roof and would be set up on the franchise model in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad during the next few months.

The company was witnessing tremendous growth in Tier-II cities on sales of its flagship model 'digital single lens reflector (DSLR)' cameras. The company had only three exclusive outlets so far-in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Mumbai. He added that they were getting a huge response particularly in the mid-end DSLR cameras.

The lower-end Canon cameras range between Rs.26,000 to Rs.50,000, while the mid-end between Rs.50,000 to Rs.1.50 lakh and the high-end cameras were priced above Rs.1.50 lakh. Bhardwaj told that the company had launched the new DSLR Electro Optical System (EOS) 7D with new features in the mid-end category, priced at Rs.1.10 lakh. The EOS 7D has a resolution of 18 megapixel and features a lock, which helps camera setting s not to change without the knowledge of the photographer.

He also mentioned that this year witnessed the highest growth in the sales of DSLR cameras despite the global meltdown. The company grew over 30 per cent in the last three years. Canon India is the currently the market leader in DSLR Cameras. It has 54 per cent market share. South India was the largest market for Canon, contributing 28 per cent on its total sales.

Canon India currently has 10 exclusive service centres across various cities. The company reported a turnover of Rs.665 crore last financial year and hopes to reach Rs.830 crore this financial year.

Source:Paisewaise.com