Realme sells 100 mn smartphones in India in 5 yrs; to focus on branding now

Chinese smartphone maker Realme has surpassed 100 million smartphone shipments in India in 2023 within just five years of its inception and the brand will sharpen its focus this year on enhancing performance, photography, and design to further elevate its sales trajectory, its Vice President Chase Xu said.

It caters to diverse market segment with its three series of smartphones. The C series focused on quality, design and technology at affordable price, number series targets the mid-range segment with advanced photography options and GT series positioned in high-end segment with focus on more advanced technology.

In addition to product improvement, the company will focus on branding upgrading. It aims to become a tech brand that caters specifically to the needs and preferences of young consumers, Chase said in an interaction here.

This dual strategy of product innovation and branding upgrades will help the company stay relevant in the Indian market.

Talking about the strategy for 2024, Chase said that Realme is looking to collaborate with 30 technology partners for innovation and invest heavily in Research & Development (R&D).

"We will make a remarkable 470 per cent increase in R&D. This reflects our commitment to our technological capabilities. This also shows our ambition to move to mid-high range segment in India's market," he said.

Headquartered in Chinese city of Shenzhen, it opened an R&D centre in India last year in order to gather and coordinate customer input.

"In India, we have set our eyes on some exciting future, so we have established an R&D centre. This centre is not just making gadgets and devices but building comprehensive technology ecosystem. It results in the creation of 13,000 job opportunities in India. This is a move in support of 'make in India' and to support localisation," Chase said.

He further said that Realme is committed to democratizing 5G technology in India, acknowledging the growing preference among people for 5G products.

On Artificial Intelligence (AI), he said that integration of AI in smartphones will become a common feature going ahead, significantly boosting and improving the overall user experience.

Globally, Realme is aiming to enter into the top five smartphone brands. At present, it is at sixth place in global ranking and to achieve this, it needs to make efforts in three areas -- product excellence, brand enhancement and technology advancement, Chase said.