Micromax Informatics Ltd, India’s leading handset manufacturer and the 10th largest smartphone player in the world, today announced its foray into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with the entry into the UAE smartphone market. Micromax has entered a strategic agreement with Tchannl, one of the leading players in telecom, IT and consumer electronics domain, to bring the latest smartphone technology within everyone’s reach in the region.
Its partnership with Tchannl will make Micromax products available across the GCC and North Africa market. Micromax will introduce its trendsetting and successful ‘Bolt Series’ of smartphones that have already sold more than 20 million devices across the company’s operating markets. Furthermore, the smartphone portfolio will be expanded based on consumer insights.
Micromax aims to extend and solidify its presence in the region armed with in-depth market insights of Tchannl co-founders, Sandeep Saihgal and Ashraf Fawakherji, who have spent more than two decades in the region setting-up presence of several global telecom brands. Tchannl’s extensive relationships with key distributors, understanding of distribution networks, know-how on channel and retail management will be crucial to building the profile of Micromax brand in the region.
Micromax, with its USP of pioneering meaningful innovations based on in-depth consumer understanding, has been conducting extensive market research for the last couple of months which includes the price point that consumers demand and the features people are seeking.
Commenting on the launch, Rahul Sharma, Co-Founder, Micromax, “We have tasted success in many International markets and feel this is the opportune time to expand our reach in the MENA region. This region will be one of the key international markets for us after Russia. The market opportunity is huge and our large portfolio of devices will be able to cater the customer’s need here. To start with, we feel our internationally successful range ‘Bolt’ will charm the consumers and we are confident that Micromax will serve as a key player in the market. Our initial focus in the region is to replicate the success witnessed in our other markets in the last couple of years.”
Speaking on the occasion, Sandeep Saihgal, Founder and Managing Partner, Tchannl said, “We are excited to work with Micromax, one of the leading mobile phone brands. UAE and the region is an ideal market for Micromax to bring its innovative product portfolio and services customized for consumers in this market.”
Ashraf Fawakherji, Founder and Managing Partner, Tchannl added, “Our immediate goal will be to build a robust distribution network to capture a significant share in the market. We will be working aggressively to strengthen our presence in the retail space across key retail points. The brand equity of Micromax is very strong in the market and our focus will be to leverage that and plan a phased expansion.”
Sameer Kakar, Vice President & Head – International Business, Micromax said “The MENA smartphone market poses as a great opportunity for Micromax. We believe Micromax products will have a promising future as the smartphone market is booming along with data services in the region. Micromax has studied this market and will continuously introduce products in tune with consumer insights from the region, and bring forth world-class products to this market. We are pleased to have Tchannl as a strategic business partner to lead it from the front and help in building the brand equity and expanding our footprint across the region.”
Micromax has estimated that the international operations will contribute nearly half of the company’s total revenue in the next three to four years. The international business currently contributes about 20% of the total phones sold by Micromax annually, which presently stands at about 36 million.
