Will stay ahead of market growth in India with profitability, not engaged in a race: Lenovo

Lenovo, which ranks India among its top-five mobile phones market in volumes, will chase a multi-pronged strategy to grow ahead of the market here and pursue profitable growth without engaging in any "race", a senior company official said on Thursday.

"We are not in the 1-2-3 race... I will want profitable growth...growth faster than the market, but profitable growth," Prashanth Mani, country head and managing director, Lenovo Mobile Business Group India, told PTI.

Mani was replying to a question on how the company plans to break into the top-three league in India -- currently a stranglehold of brands such as Xiaomi, Samsung and Vivo.

Lenovo India on Thursday launched three smartphones -- Lenovo A6 Note, Lenovo K10 Note and Lenovo Z6 Pro -- in the country at price points of Rs 7,999, Rs 13,999 and Rs 33,999, respectively.

Lenovo is also leveraging India as a manufacturing base, through contract manufacturing, and has also begun exporting from India, recently.

The exports have commenced to markets, including the Middle East and parts of Africa, and even a consignment to Japan, Mani said adding that export operations began 6-7 months ago.

"We are keen to continue manufacturing in India and any export benefit which comes will only help us," Mani said.

Lenovo will chase a multi-pronged strategy in the country, including Made for India (customisation of products for the local market); Make for India (manufacturing operations), and strategic partnerships.

"Any company which seeks out emerging markets, definitely seeks India as a pillar. So, India is among the top-five markets in volume terms already but now, the company is saying how do we grow emerging markets business in a significant way," he said adding that other large markets for the company include US, Brazil and Mexico.

The company expects the Indian smartphone market to grow about 5-7 per cent in the second half of this year, and hopes to be ahead of the growth curve.

"Compared to other industries where you see a slowdown, the innovation-centricity of this category and the number of launches ensures that the category will continue to grow," he said.