itel Mobile eyes 20 pc mkt share in sub Rs 8K price

Handset maker itel Mobile today said it is eyeing market share of 20 per cent in below Rs 8,000 price segment by next year.
"At present, we have 2 to 3 per cent market share in overall mobile phone market and we are targeting 20 per cent market share in sub Rs 8,000 category by 2017," said company's CEO Sudhir Kumar here today.
He further said that out of total 250 million handsets being sold in the country every year, there are 150 million mobile handsets which are below Rs 8,000. "We are aiming 36 million handsets per annum or 3 million handsets a month for sale in 2017," he said.

Kumar said the company had sold more than 40 lakh units in just five months.
He further said the company had planned to set up an integrated industrial park in the country to cater to both domestic and overseas market of African countries.
"We have plans to set up an integrated industrial park and we are looking at suitable for the facility which will come up in association with a local partner," he said.

He said the company has three manufacturing facilities in China and two in Africa. "We have 30-35 per cent market share in African countries," he said.

At present, the company has tied up with 650 distributors and 48,000 retail outlets for selling its handsets. "We have plans to expand our coverage to 90,000 outlets soon," Kumar said.
Itel Mobile is selling at present 14 feature phones and 7 smart phones.