Saturday, February 09, 2013

2008=#20 2010=#3 2012=#_?

Two years back, Micromax was a name heard by few and seen by fewer. Exhibiting a rare example of brilliant innovation combined with common sense, today it rules the world of advertising and has climbed to the number 3 spot in the domestic handset market. What next? by Surbhi Chawla

Of late, the Indian handset market has been flooded with a plethora of indigenous handset brands, which bear the stamp of companies that would have dumbfounded most acclaimed au faits as recently as a year ago. But these so criticised infantile firms have taught the masters of the mobile handset game (read: Nokia, Samsung, Motorola) how to ride the stalking-horse in the face of hell-raising competition. They have been successful in bringing to life the dormant aspirational values of many in the country, offering them “value for money” look-alikes of the best of handsets that the Indian Daddy Warbucks could afford. Their secret — they understand the psyche of the Indian consumer and deliver by “keeping it real fake”.

But as it occurs in many a fairy tale, there are the suitors, but there is just one real prince who walks away with all the glory and honour... and most importantly, wins the hand of the princess! In this race too, there appears to be one real prince for the moment – Micromax. And it is loud about not being a follower of the "keeping it real fake" cult. At present, Micromax offers 34 handsets in the Indian market. According to reports by tech-watchers at IDC, it is the third-largest handset vendor behind Nokia and Samsung. Some rise for a brand in the ghastly cluttered Indian handset market. So far so good. But will this north-bound express train gather greater momentum in the times to come? Some would debate, but considering the pace at which the industry has progressed in the recent past, Micromax may well be on its way to finding its name amongst the top two vendors in the country. According to IDC India, the number of handsets sold in the country touched 100.9 million units during the 12-month period ended June 30, 2009, registering a yoy growth of 6.7%. As the per capita income rises by the day, and as educational reforms make the common Indian more privileged, aspiration levels will rise, thus it will rise the demand for more handsets. In short – Micromax is in for a great ride along with other newbies.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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