Micromax Informatics, once India’s largest smartphone maker by market share, is back in the top spot, building on recent government initiatives to boost manufacturing and counter cheaper imports from China.
In 2014, Micromax made history when it surpassed South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung in total smartphone shipments in the domestic market. But it has steadily lost market share since then as newer brands, especially from China, took center stage with competitive pricing and advanced features.
“Everybody was looking at Chinese phones because they were very competitively priced,” said co-founder Rahul Sharma in an interview.
However, according to Sharma, India’s new production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme will tip the scales back in favor of domestic manufacturers, especially Micromax, which still has strong brand recall.
“I think this is a great cushion that has been provided to all the Indian companies, which will help us fight these guys,” Sharma added.
Under the PLI scheme, the government will give a 4-6% incentive to eligible electronics companies on incremental sales of manufactured products – mobile phones and electronic components like printed circuit boards and sensors, among others – for five years. The base year is 2019-20 and the incentives are applicable as of August 1.
In October, the government approved Bhagwati Products, the Micromax phone maker under the PLI scheme, along with 15 other companies, including Rising Star, Wistron and Pegatron. With the exception of Samsung, all other foreign companies are contract manufacturers for Apple Inc. Samsung and Apple together account for almost 60% of global mobile phone revenue.
Sharma says the Indian market needs an Indian brand to take on Chinese smartphone makers, who enjoyed an unfair advantage given the Chinese government’s support through cross-subsidies for decades, making them virtually impossible to challenge.
Micromax will soon launch a new brand called ‘In’. According to Sharma, the company has been working on the new set of products for 8 to 9 months. Unlike in the past, Sharma says, Micromax will no longer make low-cost smartphones.
“We will only come out with performance-oriented products. You won’t see phones that are worth your time ₹3,000-5,000 from Micromax, “he said. The new phones will be in the range of ₹7,000-10,000 up to ₹20,000-25,000 and will be available to customers early next month, with a full line of ‘In’ brand phones ready by the end of the year. Eventually, smartphones will be followed by connected devices, through Micromax AC and other products.
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