Majority of customers today do not believe in mid-range phones: Celkon Mobiles, Executive Director

By Manishika Miglani

In line with the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, Celkon Mobiles has recently launched its first mobile manufacturing unit in Medchal, Telangana, and has big plans for India in terms of manufacturing.

The company expects its smartphone to feature phone ratio to be 60:40 this year, but at the same time sees a dying future for the mid-range phones in the country.

In an interaction with Voice&Data, Murali Retineni, Executive Director, Celkon Mobiles, talks about the company’s manufacturing plans, policies and why mid-range phones are under threat from premium and budget phones.

Voice&Data: Brief us about your number of manufacturing centres and your expansion plans.

Murali  Retineni: We currently have our own R&D and design centre in Shenzen China. The state-of-the-art facility has the capacity to design high technology and feature rich products. Celkon is currently present in 12 countries, including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya, Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey. We will be strengthening our focus in the existing international markets and North Indian states like Rajasthan and Punjab. We also look at expanding to countries like Rwanda, Bangladesh and Europe.

Voice&Data: What kind of policies you expect from the government to boost the manufacturing eco-system in India?

Murali  Retineni: The Government has shown its intent to create a business friendly environment and boost the ’Make in India’ initiative. However, what is needed is investor friendly policies and initiatives to promote the manufacturing eco-system in India. Reduction in customs duty and subsidies on materials imported for assembling can improve affordability to consumers by manufacturing in India.

Voice&Data: What kind of financing options should be considered for mobiles and tablets for establishing India as a global power in international mobile market?

Murali Retineni: Before considering financing options, India should encourage innovation. Today we have very few brands with the capability and quality to provide for the global market. Scaling up is the next step, the quality benchmark has to be in place in India.

Voice&Data: Do you think that the recent move to increase the service tax and import duty on mobiles will pave way for a stronger “Make in India” initiative? Please elaborate.

Murali  Retineni: Yes, the move will support the ‘Make in India’ initiative and pave way for a stronger ecosystem. However, this requires more such support from the government; which can aid in developing a manufacturing ecosystem in India.

Voice&Data: What is your go-to-market strategy for being competitive in comparison to the International mobile brands.

Murali  Retineni: We believe in creating offerings for every person. In developing countries such as East and West Africa, and Srilanka, this model has worked for us. We provide the best-in-class quality to all our customers. Little innovations like local language support, developed in tandem with customer insights give us the edge over international brands.

Voice&Data: The domestic handset players are mainly preferred for their budget series of smartphones. Do you foresee any major transition to the premium segment in terms of consumer behaviour.

Murali  Retineni: In my opinion the shift is more towards budget phones. Ultra premium category has its set of loyal customers. But with brands launching phones at extremely competitive prices, the market is shifting towards a budget phone. Majority of the customers today do not believe in the mid-range. Moreover, even after buying a premium phone, one would prefer to have a budget phone as a secondary device. In the coming years, only the ultra-premium category will prevail, rest all will merge into the budget category.

Voice&Data: How do you plan to consolidate the 'Digital India' move?

Murali Retineni: Digital India still has a lot of ground work to be done, once the country is ready; brands like Celkon will benefit tremendously as the scale of smartphone consumption will grow exponentially. We have the capabilities to scale up to that extent. In fact, the trend has already started setting. We are expecting our smartphone to feature phone ratio to be 60:40 this year.