Micromax, which is the leading handsets maker in India and the world’s 11th largest mobile phone player, has announced the launch of its operations in Russia. Micromax is quite successful in the Indian market and is a clear No 3 overall phone brand (smart + feature phones) in India, is now gearing up for Russia. This is their first step towards their global expansion plans and the next step is expected to be in Latin American countries, and reaching ultimately in niche markets of Europe and US.
Micromax will be operating in Russia through VVP Group, one of the leading distribution houses in Russia. VVP Group is also associated with some of the leading global smartphone players for selling their devices in Russia. VVP is known for its superior logistics setup, warehouses, retail management system and transportation management systems across the main hubs of Russia which will further help Micromax build its footprint in the country.
To start with, Micromax will be introducing its popular and successful Canvas series of smartphones and Bolt series of smart-feature phones in Russia. These devices will be available in 9000+ sales outlets in Russia across 60 cities. As per Micromax, they have already sold more than 35 million devices across the operating markets for Micromax in the past one year. The company will be launching 14 products in the Russian market in the initial phase, as the brand is already looking at gearing up to be among the Top 4 brands in Russia by the end of 2014. The company is ready with its service infrastructure across Russia with an aim of having more than 60 operational service centers by end of the month. Micromax will also have its exclusive service centers in strategic cities in Russia as the brand strengthens its presence across the country.
Micromax range of products will be ideal for the Russia market, which can’t afford to have very expensive smartphones of leading companies like Apple, Samsung, LG and Sony.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Rahul Sharma, Co-Founder, Micromax said, “At Micromax, our emphasis has always been to democratize technology for masses around the world through an innovative product portfolio. As we look to take Micromax to key international markets, we are excited to announce our foray into the Russian mobile handset market which has immense potential not only for smartphones and features phones, but also for innovative tablets and data products. Our initial focus in the Russian market is to replicate the success witnessed in our other markets in the last couple of years. We have carved the vision for ourselves to be the 1st Indian hardware brand to be global and set our footprint with Russia as the first developed market to venture into.”
Micromax has also tied up with the leading VAS providers in Russia including Odnoklassniki, Russia’s popular social network service; IVI.ru, Russia’s first free video & music service; Viber, the leading global instant messaging application; Facebook; Twitter and M!Live giving users access to social connectivity and unlimited free online games.
Micromax has been at the forefront of driving innovation through their innovative product offerings for the different categoires. Micromax has recently announced Canvas Laptab at the recenly concluded CES in Las Vegas. This is the world’s first dual boot tablet powered by Intel CPU. Micromax product portfolio boasts of 60 models today, ranging from feature rich, dual – SIM phones, 3G Android smartphones, tablets, LED televisions and data cards.
