'Micromax Is Set For A Big Leap'

Micromax Co-Founder, Rahul Sharma, remains determined in the face of intense competition from Chinese smartphone brands. In an interview with Voice&Data, Sharma, who scripted the ‘Challenger Brand’ Micromax success story, finds himself challenged for next level growth. He shares more on the roadmap. Here’s why Sharma thinks Micromax will remain a winner in the war for India smartphone market

- Ibrahim Ahmad

Voice&Data: Chinese vs Indian brands the smartphones battle is getting hotter, how do you expect the story to play out, given the slide that Micromax is facing owing to competition?

Rahul Sharma: We take our competitors very seriously and are very well in tune to the developments in the market. Market dynamics change every quarter and as a brand we are always enthralled to reinvent ourselves and come up with compelling product propositions to bring the best for our consumers. I believe that whoever invests in bringing the best value proposition and converts the smartphone into an intelligent phone will truly win this game. Our recent entry into premium segment of smartphones with our Dual 5 is one such example as the smartphone brings Qualcomm Snapdragon 635 processors, 3200 mAh battery, metal body, 13 MP front dual camera, 13 MP selfie camera and more all at an affordable price point of ₹25,000. Another compelling product is our Bharat Series, which is aimed at first generation smartphone users in the country who still haven’t migrated from a feature phone. The smartphone is the most affordable 4G VoLTE device, running on the Android Marshmallow, and is attractively priced at ₹3,499.

We are also simultaneously focussing on making our pedigree stronger in international markets as well and currently have operations in Middle East, Russia, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Our international business is doing extremely well – contributing about 8% to the overall revenue and about 15-25% to the overall volumes. We are currently selling close to a million units in the international markets and are amongst the Top 3 brands across geographies.

Voice&Data: What according to you have been the big changes in the industry in the last two years and how are you enabling Micromax to stride ahead?