Handset maker OnePlus today said it has partnered with electronics retailer Croma to set up "experience zones" across top 10 cities as the Chinese firm looks to ramp up its presence in the country.
OnePlus, whose smartphones are available on Amazon.In and its own website in India, considers the country as its top market with 40 per cent of its global revenues coming from this region.
"India is a very important market for us. While we have seen immense success selling online, there is still an audience that wants to touch and feel the phone before buying it," OnePlus India General Manager Vikas Agarwal told PTI.
Partnering with Croma will ensure that consumers can "experience" the product before making a purchase decision, he added.
"This is our foray into offline space but we see this more from an experience point of view. We had set up our own experience centre in Bengaluru and that has really pushed our sales up," he said.
Agarwal said initially these zones will be set up in Croma stores in top 10 cities like the metros, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and others, where trained staff will be available to explain the features to potential customers.
"This is the first time we are taking such an approach globally. This will not only help sales but also increase brand visibility," he said.
OnePlus has two kiosks in Delhi-NCR also that it intends to expand as well over.
In the past few years, many handset brands that entered India through online channels have extended their presence to the offline space. These include the likes of Motorola and Xiaomi.
While online channels have witnessed significant growth, offline still accounts for over 60 per cent of mobile phone sales in the country.
India is one of the world's largest mobile phone markets and handset makers from around the world are betting on this market to drive their growth.
All products will be available at same price as online channels and will include offers as available on all other authorised channels.
As per the IDC report, OnePlus is among the top 3 premium smartphone brands in India. The others in that tally include Samsung and Apple.
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