Micromax forays into Russia; to launch Canvas and Bolt series

Homegrown handset maker will launch 14 products in the Russian market in the initial phase

Homegrown handset maker Micromax today announced its foray into the Russian market with the launch of Canvas and Bolt range of mobile phones.

Micromax will launch 14 products in the Russian market in the initial phase and operate through a partnership with VVP Group, a leading distribution house in Russia, it said in a statement.

"With a focus on democratising technologies for the masses, we aim to have an aggressive plan to make a mark in the Russian mobile handset market re-emphasising our vision to offer innovative products and service offerings customised to address the needs of consumers in Russia," it added.

Micromax will introduce its Canvas series of smartphones and Bolt series of smart-feature phones, which have already sold more than 35 million devices across the operating markets for Micromax in the past one year.

Micromax aims to be among the top four brands in Russia by the end of 2014 and plans to have more than 60 operational service centres by end of the month.

It will also have exclusive service centers in strategic cities in Russia.

"As we look to take Micromax to key international markets, we are excited to announce our foray into the Russian mobile handset market which has immense potential not only for smartphones and features phones, but also for innovative tablets and data products," Micromax Co-Founder Rahul Sharma said.

The company has also tied up with the leading VAS providers in Russia including Odnoklassniki, a popular social network service; IVI.Ru, a free video & music service; global instant messaging application Viber; Facebook; Twitter and M!Live.

It plans to support the launch with a 360 degree branding exercise aiming to enhance the brand visibility in the region supported by marketing campaign across print, online and TV.

The company has sales presence spread across India and SAARC markets already.