Usha Shriram set to launch GSM cellphones in Guj

Company plans additional 250 distributors and 5,000 dealerships all over the country

Usha Shriram Electronics, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rs 500 crore Usha Shriram Group, has chalked out plans to be a national mobile player.

The company is all set to launch its Lexus brand of mobile phones in Gujarat and other parts of the country.

With the launch, the Lexus brand of GSM phones will be the first and only mobile phones of an Indian company to be sold in India, the company said.

After launching in north India, Usha Shriram will launch the phones in a phased manner in other parts of the country by September.

"This market has immense potential for Lexus mobile phones. We have customised the phones according to the needs of the Indian customer. In the last six months, apart from Punjab and Chandigarh, we have launched our Lexus mobiles in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Haryana and received a tremendous response. In the second phase, we are targeting Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, the North East and southern states," Rajan Saigal, senior executive director, Usha Shriram Electronics, said on Wednesday.

To be a national player, the company is planning to set up a network of over 250 distributors and 5,000 dealers, which would be in addition to the existing network of over 1,000 dealers in the country.

The company aims to garner a share of over five per cent in the existing markets and over two per cent of in the newer markets.

The company will offer six models of trendy Lexus mobile phones at special prices with the latest and attractive features like coloured body, polyphonic ringtones, speed dial, call barring facility, intelligent messaging and call conferencing.

The first phase of the Lexus mobile phones includes models like 210B, 124B, 541B, 542B, 657B, and 761B and is priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 6,000, while the basic model 210B will be offered at a price of Rs 3,250.

"By the end of this year, all the models will be available in almost all parts of the country. Lexus mobile phones are the only of its kind in the price range between Rs 3,500 and Rs 6,000, with features such as speaker phone, blue screen, on-screen location indicator with 100-number memory phone book and the facility to copy from the phone book to the SIM and SIM to the phone book," said Ajay Sharma, general manager, Usha Shriram Electronics.

The company outsource its products to countries such as Taiwan, China and Korea and has forged alliances with manufacturers in those countries. Different models are produced by the collaborators. The company aims to manufacture high-end mobile phones by the end of this year.

"At present, we have to pay customs duty of five per cent on import of mobile phones and it is not a valuable proposition to start manufacturing of mobile phones now. However, the company may start manufacturing in the coming years," said Sharma.