POCO looking to become independent legal entity in India, to launch new device in Feb

POCO, which has recently been spun off from Xioami as a separate entity, is working towards becoming an independent legal entity in India.

Speaking to PTI, POCO India General Manager C Manmohan said the company is working on becoming an independent legal entity in India to operate as a distinct company.

"POCO has been able to differentiate itself in the market in the last one and half years. We will continue listening to consumers to bring innovative products to them... we are working on establishing an independent legal entity in India," he added.

POCO had launched 'F1' in August 2018. While it is not clear how many devices have been sold, reports suggest it had been able to capture over 3 per cent market share in 2018 in Rs 15,000-30,000 price segment. This share dropped later, given that no new devices were launched under POCO after the F1.

Manmohan said the company will leverage some resources from Xiaomi like after-sales but that will be done through separate agreements. The company has already established a product, sales and marketing team of its own.

POCO will also introduce its next product in the Indian market next month.

"We will launch our new phone next month. We will start online and then progress to additional channels," he said.

Talking about the smartphone market in the country, Manmohan said the industry is very different from 2018, when POCO was launched as a sub-brand of Xiaomi.

"The last one and a half years have been a good training exercise. As a separate entity, we will be able to take decisions independently. There is competition, including from Xiaomi, but our focus will be on delivering premium experiences and innovation," he added.

Xiaomi led the smartphone shipment tally with 27.1 per cent share in the September 2019 quarter, followed by Samsung (18.9 per cent), Vivo (15.2 per cent), Realme (14.3 per cent) and Oppo (11.8 per cent), as per an industry report.

According to Counterpoint Research, POCO had 3.6 per cent share in 2018 in the Rs 15,000-30,000 price segment, which dropped to 1.1 per cent in 2019.