To expand business in a competitive market like India, one needs to evaluate the online and offline routes simultaneously. Online sales are effective to a point of creating buzz in the market, and gradually the noise around settles down, leading to deteriorating sales of the product.
Taking a similar route, LeEco is expanding to the offline stores in India with the Le 1S to start with. The smartphone will be available in select stores in prime localities in New Delhi and Mumbai as part of the first phase. In the second phase, the company hopes to expand to 70% of the retail stores by September.
Motorola had also taken a similar route last year, owing to pressure from Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Gionee and Xiaomi.
Atul Jain, COO at Smart Electronics Business – LeEco, said, “Since our India launch, we’re thrilled to have seen an incredible response from users and this landmark announcement is a step ahead in making our Superphones more accessible to our users. In the near future, also plan to have our own wholly owned retail stores across the country.”
LeEco also has plans to start domestic manufacturing and set-up R&D training centres in India. It is also waiting for FIBP for approval to open its own retail stores in India.
LeEco to unveil new smartphones at 2Future event
LeEco had sent out invites for its event today in New Delhi. The company will be announcing its next generation of superphones – Le 2, Le Pro 2 and Le Max 2.
LeEco entered India in January 2016 and since then has held successful flash sales on Facebook and created a name in consumer’s minds. The company is not just a smartphone maker, but a complete technological ecosystem that houses various smart products.
The smartphones will run on Android Marshmallow 6.0 out of the box, and have the audio jack replaced with a USB Type C port. There aren’t any budget friendly phones that support USB Type C, so this should be the first in India.
The three smartphones are expected to offer high-end specs at relatively lower prices, targeting Moto, OnePlus and Xiaomi. The phones are expected to be priced between 11,000 and 26,000 INR.
Stay tuned for more information about LeEco’s media event!
