With demand for handsets, POCO India eyes 75-80% business growth in 2023

Smartphone player POCO India expects a 75-80 per cent year-on-year jump in business in 2023, mainly due to demand for its handsets in the medium and economy segment, a top company official said on Monday.

POCO India Country Head Himanshu Tandon told PTI that as per market research firm Canalys, the overall smartphone market in India has declined 10 to 15 per cent and online sales dropped 20 per cent, but Xiaomi's sub-brand has emerged as the fastest growing online label, with a 68 per cent jump in sales for the March 2023 quarter.

The launch of three models in the C-series under Rs 10,000 and X5 Pro in the price range of Rs 20,000-25,0000 segment fuelled the company's growth in the first quarter of 2023, he noted.

"It's the start of the year, and we have taken very aggressive targets. From a YoY perspective, we want to have 75 to 80 per cent growth compared to last year," Tandon said.

He said the first quarter has been on track with 68 per cent growth, and preliminary numbers for the second quarter are even higher than the first quarter.

According to Tandon, loyalty and upgrade along with 60 per cent of repeat customers contributed to the growth of the company sales.

"We have also started focusing on offline channels. We have appointed four distributors in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. That is also giving us a certain growth. From an overall growth point of view, I think few of the big brands have vacated certain space in the online space and it was an opportune time for us to grab that share," he said.

According to a market research firm, International Data Corporation's (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report smartphone shipments dipped to a four-year low of 31 million in the first quarter and the overall smartphone market is expected to see a flat growth this year.

The decline in smartphone shipment has been mainly due to the weakness of demand in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment.

POCO claims that the C- series smartphones in the sub-Rs 10,000 filled the void that was left with the exit of several players from the segment.

"We saw a lot of brands, especially vacating that space. We are trying to focus on the under Rs 10,000 segment. We are trying to build a 5G portfolio around the Rs 10,000 price band. In the coming few months also, we are trying to bridge our Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 price bracket by bringing affordable 5G devices, which will also make sure that our growth remains intact," Tandon said.

The company targets customers in the age bracket of 18-24 years, Tandon said.