 "Micromax eyes 40% growth in 2016-17; beefs up online strategy")
Domestic handset maker Micromax aims to grow its sales by 40% by March next year as it ramps up its product portfolio and increases focus on online sales channel.
The country's second largest handset maker also expects to see 20% of its smartphones sales coming from the online channels in 2016-17, as compared to 15% last fiscal.
"Offline sales will grow 30-35%, while online sales will grow 50-70%. This should give us a blended growth rate of about 40% for 2016-17," Micromax Chief Marketing Officer Shubhajit Sen told PTI.
For 2015-16, Micromax will close the year with nearly $2 billion (about Rs 13,297 crore) in revenues, he added.
Talking about the strategy for the new fiscal, Sen said the company has about 11% average share of the total online exclusive sales for the industry.
"The target now is to take it to 20%. This will be driven by introduction of new phones and focus on sub Rs 10,000 handsets as well as our beefed up online strategy," he added.
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Reports suggest one in three smartphones are sold online in the country.
The company had partnered with Snapdeal and Flipkart last year to launch exclusive handsets under the Canvas range. It is now in discussion with other online players, including Amazon, to launch new devices.
"Last year, we started with our online strategy but still it was felt that there were gaps where Micromax was not present. This year, we will focus on bringing in smartphones in the sub Rs 5,000 category as well as Rs 8,000 category," he said.
Sen added that the strategy also fits in well with the growing trend of e-commerce in the tier-II and III towns.
"Micromax has been very strong in the sub Rs 5,000 category in the offline space and we will replicate that success in the online platform as well," Sen said.
Asked if the offline sales could take a hit with increasing customer preference for online purchases, he answered in the negative.
"There will always be a market for offline sales. While there are buyers online, there is also a huge chunk of people who still prefer to touch and feel the product before buying it," he said.
Sen said the company will have about 3-4 products at a time across online platforms.