India will be among top 3 global markets, export hub for us: Transsion

Chinese handset maker Transsion Holding Wednesday said it is looking at ramping up its exports from India to markets like Africa and Middle East.

Transsion, which operates three brands - Tecno, Infinix and itel - in India, is also confident of the country becoming one of its top three markets by next year.

"India is the fastest growing smartphone market globally and a key market for us. We have been here for about three years, but India is already our fourth biggest market; and we are confident that it will move into the top three next year," Transsion India CEO Arijeet Talapatra told PTI.

 

Transsion, which has presence in 60 countries, counts Nigeria and Kenya as its major markets.

"We have recently started exporting to Africa and the Middle East, these were small quantities. We are looking at expanding that, positioning India as an export hub," he said.

Transsion has two manufacturing units in India with an annual capacity of 20 million feature phones and 10 million smartphones.

It is also looking at setting up a research and development unit in India to further localise its products.

On the Tecno brand, Transsion India Chief Operating Officer Marco Ma said the brand is now expanding to online channels in India with the launch of its latest flagship, Phantom 9.

He said Tecno will bring in products across price categories, including under-Rs 8,000 and above-Rs 12,000 ranges, and will be sold through online and offline channels.

"In the last six months, the share of online channel has grown from 32 per cent to 41 per cent... While we have a very vast offline network, we will now be present online as well, starting with Phantom 9," he said.

Talapatra added that while Tecno has a strong presence in tier II markets and beyond, expanding into online channels will enable the company to engage better with customers in metros and tier I cities.

Phantom 9, which will be available from July 17 for Rs 14,999, has a 6.4-inch display, 6GB RAM, 128GB internal memory (expandable to 256GB), 32MP front and 16MP+8MP+2MP triple rear camera setup, and 3,500 mAh battery. It features an in-screen fingerprint scanner.

Tecno has signed a three-year online distribution pact with Flipkart.

The brand, which has renewed its global partnership with Manchester City Football Club, said activities will be undertaken to help fans engage with the Premier League team. will also introduce a co-branded device.