Coronavirus: Poco says only a month's stock available, future unclear

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi's sub-brand Poco on Tuesday said the company has one month of stock of mobile phones for sale in India and there is no clarity on impact of coronavirus outbreak on supplies thereafter.

The company will start selling three smartphone models of its latest phone Poco X2, priced in the range of Rs 15,999 to Rs 19,999, from February 11 on e-commerce portal Flipkart.

"It is very unfortunate situation. But fortunately for Poco we have taken enough steps to take care of the supplies but I don't know in which directions things will move," Poco India General Manager Manmohan Chandolu told reporters in response to a query on impact of coronavirus outbreak in China.

Poco shares Xiaomi's manufacturing facility in India and Chandolu said that the company has enough stock "for at least one month from the date of first sale. We will start the first sale on February 11".

The deadly virus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, is spreading to other nations. The outbreak has claimed more than 420 lives so far in mainland China, and has compounded fears of an economic impact.

India on Monday reported a third novel coronavirus case after another Keralite student from Wuhan university in China tested positive for the infection.

The Kerala government has declared the epidemic as a "state calamity".

Xiaomi is carving out the Poco brand as a separate entity which will focus on requirements for Indian market.

Chandolu said that it will take time for Poco to establish itself as a separate legal entity. However, it has started hiring people for various roles in India.

He said that the company is hiring a lot of workforce, but is unable to share the exact number.

Poco has started hiring for product development, sales and marketing and will start hiring for market strategy team and other service centric team.

It is developing its own portal from which it will gradually start selling smartphones as well, Chandolu said.