Lava readies Rs 500-cr R&D, marketing plan
Lava plans to pump in over ₹500 crore into research and development, and marketing in the next two years, targeting 100% year-on-year growth in the coming years with a focus on '5G-fying' the budget smartphone segment, newly elevated managing director Sunil Raina told ET.
The company has seen its revenue triple in the past three years since relaunching its smartphone brand in 2020, while its volumes have grown 2.5 times, underpinning a resurgence after being pushed out of the market by Chinese brands since its peak in 2014.
«My top priority is to see how to bring more value to the consumers. Secondly, it is to make sure that we grow at least at a 100% rate for the next 3-4 years, that's the key objective.
Thirdly, it is to make sure to invest in the right areas,» Raina said in his first media interview since being elevated from president.
He said the company will be investing upwards of ₹500 crore in R&D and marketing in a bid to become more competitive with its rival Chinese brands.
«As we scale up, as we become bigger, with more complex technologies coming in, we would like to have more R&D capabilities. So, we will be putting more resources in R&D.
And put more resources in marketing. Because brand and product for me are two key areas we will have to work on, backed by great service and distribution,» Raina said.
The company touched its peak market share of 8% in the smartphone segment in 2014 before being pushed to the fringes by moneyed Chinese players who captured the 4G wave.
It made a comeback to the segment in 2020, but has a share of less than 1%, which it hopes to grow, backed by its affordable 5G play.
Lava has a 28% share in the featurephone space, second to Itel, according to market tracker CMR. Raina
