Tecno aims to break into the top five smartphone brands: Transsion India CEO

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Tecno smartphone brand is looking to reach the top five brands by the end of this year by more than doubling its market share with the help of frequent smartphone launches in the mid-to-premium price category. “By the end of this year, we should be getting over 7% of the market share. And, maybe we will have a more significant number… we're certainly looking at the top five.

Being in five depends on how we are doing compared to how the competition is doing. And some of the players are not doing well. We understand customers better,” Arijeet Talapatra, CEO of Transsion India, told ET.

Techno is eyeing to enter the top three brands in the coming years. “We are very strong in R&D and extremely affordable in terms of our offerings. We are launching more than 20 handsets this year, and in each segment, between Rs 20,000 and Rs 1 lakh, we are growing faster than the industry,” he added.

He, however, said that the brand doesn't want to be aggressive in playing the pure volume game, unlike other brands that focus on the below Rs 20,000 price category. “Had we just focused on the sub-Rs 20,000 price category, we would have already been among the top five brands. But, we have taken a bold step, and we want to be among the top five, but we also want to focus on the premium categories,” he added.

As per Counterpoint, the premiumization trend gained momentum as the segment grew at a faster rate of 112% year-on-year. Analysts said that the rise of a value-based incentive system for retailers, aggressive promotions, credit availability through various financing schemes, and OEMs’ focussed approach is driving premiumization in India. “We are working with all the financial institutions such as banks and NBFCs to drive affordability for