Oct-Dec sales may fall 25% due to demonetisation: Coolpad

Chinese handset maker Coolpad today said it expects to register 25 per cent fall in sales during October-December 2016 compared to the previous quarter, following the government's move to scrap old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes and the ensuing cash crunch.

"While the month of October saw significant jump in sales during festive season ie October, November has seen a significant fall on account of the demonetisation announcement," Coolpad India CEO Syed Tajuddin told PTI.

He added that while the situation is improving, the overall sales in the ongoing quarter will see a 25 per cent hit compared to the July-September quarter.
 

According to various reports, the government's move to scrap old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes and the cash crunch that ensued has hit sales of mobile handsets, including those sold online.

Mobile phone industry body Indian Cellular Association has said sales have come down by 50 per cent due to cash crunch post demonetisation.

Research firm IDC has also indicated that the sequential decline is likely to be higher in the fourth quarter, owing to the cash crunch in the country since the second week of November.

"This has already resulted in significant slowdown of demand across PC and mobile devices; not just in offline retail but in online channel as well, where cash on delivery (COD) contributes to a substantial portion of the sales," IDC had said.

The fourth quarter smartphone shipment is expected to see 17.5 per cent sequential decline, as per IDC estimates.

Coolpad today launched two new smartphones -- Mega 3 and Note 3S -- priced at Rs 6,999 and Rs 9,999. Both devices will be available from December 7 on Amazon.In.

The Mega 3 features a 5.5-inch display, 1.25 GHz quadcore processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB built-in storage (expandable upto 64GB), 8MP rear and 8MP front camera and 3,050mAh battery.

With a 5.5-inch display, the Note 3S features 1.36GHz octacore processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal memory (expandable upto 32GB), 13MP rear and 5MP front camera and 2500mAh battery.

The company has also partnered Reliance Jio, under which customers can get a Reliance Jio SIM from Reliance stores. "We are working on figuring out if we can provide the SIM along with the handsets itself and what sort of benefits can we add along," he said.