GOME partners Agaston Mobile to tap into Indian smartphone market

Chinese consumer electronics company GOME has inked an exclusive distribution partnership with Agaston Mobile to tap into the burgeoning Rs 6,000-12,000 (mid-price range) smartphone segment in India.

With Agaston Mobile, which already sells mobile phones under the 'Tambo' brand name in the sub-Rs 6,000 category, GOME will launch two smartphones later this month in offline retail channel.

"The partnership between Agaston and GOME is aimed at offering the best-in-class technology and features in mid-premium range to the Indian consumers. With our well-established distribution network, we are confident that we will be able to offer GOME across maximum cities by end of the year," Agaston Mobile India CEO Sudhir Kumar told PTI.

He added that GOME's C Series of smartphones feature 'Face Me' technology that provides users the option to hide data including gallery, incoming calls and details on the notification lock screen from others.

The two devices -- C7 and C7 Note -- will be priced Rs 5,999 onwards. Agaston Mobile will provide GOME with a network of about 800 distributors and 600 service centres.

In the first phase, Agaston will launch the GOME brand in north-eastern states, followed by West Bengal, Punjab and Gujarat.

"GOME is very excited to come to India. We aim at building a product ecosystem which isn't just to cater to customer needs but offers the first and only platform which has 'privacy' at the centre of everything that we have to offer," GOME Telecom CEO Sean Sha said.

GOME's foray into the Indian market is the first global expansion outside China by the company. It had ventured into the handset business last year.

India is among the world's largest mobile phone markets. As per data from research firm IDC, a total of 33.5 million units of smartphones were shipped in the second quarter of 2018, a year-on-year growth of 20 per cent. The sub-Rs 12,000 devices account for a significant chunk of the market.