Gionee to target youth, focus more on design: William Lu

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 05 April 2014 | 23.25

Chinese Mobile phone maker Gionee has big plans for India. The company that was setup in 2002 has been in the business of manufacturing mobile phones for a little over a decade now.

Gionee is trying to woo customers away from Apple and Samsung - not just on home turf but in 40 other overseas markets.

Below is the transcript of William Lu, President, Gionee's interview with CNBC TV18's Mohammad Shakil &  Syna Dehnugara on the side lines of the launch of the Elife S5.5, the world's slimmest smart phone. 
 
Q: You have been present as a brand in India for a year now, what have been the challenges of operating here?
 
A: Everything has been smooth, not too many difficulties. I had first come to India in 1999 and worked here, so I know India for the past 15 years now. We've got very experienced people to head our India business and with good partners the sailing has been smooth. However, the biggest challenge has been the Indian consumers' mindset about Chinese products. 
 
Q: Do you see the mindset changing now?

A: It is slowly changing because Gionee is different from other Chinese products.
 
Q: How has Gionee leveraged its global experience in India?

A5: Before India, we've been to Nigeria, Vietnam, Philippines, and have years experience in China. China and India are similar markets because they are both open markets and so a lot of that learning in China can be applied to India.
 
Q: How many mobile phones have you managed to sell in India and how much do you intend spending on marketing?

A: We sold 1 million phones in India in the first year and our total marketing budget is more than USD 20 million.
 
Q: How is the Indian market different from other markets?

A: Right now in India, the brands available are international brands like Apple, Samsung, Sony, or then there are local Indian brands. The problem is that the international brands are expensive and cater to the upper band and the local brands to the lower end.

However, all the Indian brands actually come from China - from tier four and five vendors who don't have technologically good products. Therefore, most Indian consumers who use Chinese products don't get good products or good price. This was the gap I noticed and entered India. Gionee will be positioned between big MNC brands and local brands.
 
Q: Which segment of the market will you focus on?

A: With the S series we plan to focus on targeting the youth because mobile phones are fashion products not high-tech products
 
Q: What about after-sales service?

A: We already have a network of 400 after-sales centers and we will expand this to 700-800 by year end.
 
Q: Who is the main challenger in the Indian market for you?

A: Our competition in India is only with the international big brands because the local Indian brands, like I mentioned earlier, are made by substandard Chinese vendors, and so they are not our competition. Main challenge comes from Samsung because of the depth of their portfolio and offerings and they have products at many price points. Wile Apple is only for the very high end. In 3-5 years, in India, I can only see Samsung as our competition
 
Q: What would you say is the USP of Gionee product?

A: First, we treat mobile phones as fashion products not technology products, so the focus is on design. We have over 100 designers on our team.

Secondly, mobile phones need a lot of new technologies, so we have over 1500 engineers working at Gionee in China.

Thirdly, we have our own manufacturing facility that produces 40 million units per year and that can be expanded to over 100 million per year.

Lastly, we have our own ecosystem in mobile internet service. So these are the four pillars that support Gionee smart phones.
 


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