Comio forays into South market

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Comio is aiming to expand its retail presence all across Karnataka over the coming four months, as it targets sales of close to 30 lakh units this fiscal, across the country.

Comio Smartphone - part of the diversified Hong Kong-headquartered Topwise Communication Co - kick-started its Karnataka operations on Tuesday with the launch of its flagship 'X1 Note'.

"This is part of our larger push into South India, as we marked our presence in Tamil Nadu on Monday. Within this year, we plan to enter Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana," Comio Smartphone CEO and Director Sanjay Kalirona told DH.

Comio entered India last year, and has since enlisted 400 distributors covering 650 towns across North and West India, through 20,000 retailers. Recently, it also began operations in Eastern India, through 150 distributors. In the South too, it has signed 150 distributors. Then, there are a fair amount of service centres as well.

"Over the next 15 days, we will spread to 12,000 retailers in East and South India. In Karnataka alone, we will appoint 35 distributors covering 30 towns, through 1,800 retailers," Kalirona said.

Comio operates largely in the lower- to mid-segments of smartphones, with devices priced between Rs 5,999 and Rs 9,999. This translates to 40% of the total market.

The mid-segment records 1.2 crore units in monthly sales, 65% of which is through the offline route. Comio aims to capture 5% of the total market and 12% of the mid-segment, Kalirona said.

"Primarily, we are an offline brand, which helps us cater to all sections of the market. Our strategy involves focusing on non-metro youth, B- and C-Class cities. We will manage the full supply chain and service of our products," he said.

Currently, the company's phones are sourced through contract manufacturing from Gurugram. Having invested Rs 100 crore in India over the last 10 months, Comio will invest another Rs 150 crore towards a plant in Northern India by the end of this year, details of which are yet to be disclosed.