OnePlus to triple offline presence by Dec with 9 more stores

Chinese handset maker OnePlus today said it plans to almost triple its offline presence in the country by the end of 2018 by opening nine more stores.

The company's current exclusive store count in the country stands at five.

"The reason why we are going offline is last year we experimented with experience centre in Bengaluru and today it is among the best performing retail stores and the good thing is that it has not cannibalised our online sales," OnePlus India general manager Vikas Agarwal told PTI.

The firm has five offline outlets at present and plans to take the tally to 14 by the end of this year, he added.

Agarwal also said that the company expects to keep its online contribution to revenues high.

Meanwhile, the smartphone maker is planning to continue focusing only on the premium category, which comprise handsets priced over Rs 30,000.

"The premium segment dominates the smartphone market globally with a 60 per cent share. So, I would rather chase the big premium opportunity than getting focused on every price segment," said Agarwal.

However, in India, the premium segment accounts for just 4 per cent of the smartphone industry, but Agarwal expects it to grow over the next five years and come closer to the global trend.

The premium smartphone market in the country is estimated to be five to six million units, growing at 20 per cent and OnePlus enjoys a market share of 40 per cent at present, according to a Counterpoint Research data.

The company which focuses on launching only one flagship model each year, has clocked a growth of 446 per cent over last year in the second quarter of 2018.

The company expects to maintain a market share of 30-40 per cent for the entire year.

India accounts for a third of the global revenues for the company, which stood at USD 1.4 billion in 2017.