Will Stay Ahead Of Market Growth In India With Profitability, Not Engaged In A Race: Lenovo

Lenovo, which ranks India among its top-five mobile phones market in volumes, will chase a multi-pronged strategy to grow ahead of the market here and pursue profitable growth without engaging in any “race”, a senior company official said on Thursday. “We are not in the 1-2-3 race… I will want profitable growth…growth faster than the market, but profitable growth,” Prashanth Mani, country head and managing director, Lenovo Mobile Business Group India, told PTI.

Mani was replying to a question on how the company plans to break into the top-three league in India — currently a stranglehold of brands such as Xiaomi, Samsungand Vivo. Lenovo India on Thursday launched three smartphones — Lenovo A6 Note, Lenovo K10 Note, and Lenovo Z6 Pro — in the country at price points of Rs 7,999, Rs 13,999 and Rs 33,999, respectively.

Lenovo is also leveraging India as a manufacturing base, through contract manufacturing, and has also begun exporting from India, recently. The exports have commenced to markets, including the Middle East and parts of Africa, and even a consignment to Japan, Mani said adding that export operations began 6-7 months ago.

“We are keen to continue manufacturing in India and any export benefit which comes will only help us,” Mani said. Lenovo will chase a multi-pronged strategy in the country, including Made for India(customization of products for the local market); Make for India (manufacturing operations), and strategic partnerships.

“Any company which seeks out emerging markets definitely seeks India as a pillar. So, India is among the top-five markets in volume terms already but now, the company is saying how do we grow emerging markets business in a significant way,” he said adding that other large markets for the company include US, Brazil, and Mexico. The company expects the Indian smartphone market to grow about 5-7 percent in the second half of this year and hopes to be ahead of the growth curve.

“Compared to other industries where you see a slowdown, the innovation-centricity of this category and the number of launches ensures that the category will continue to grow,” he said.―Devdiscourse