Chinese smartphone makers tweak strategy to project products as Indian brands (Representative image)
Chinese handset makers who command around 70 per cent of the market share in India are projecting themselves as Indian brands and selling made-in-India products to ward off any possible backlash on their sales after the Galwan violence.
Korean brand Samsung, which is a major competitor, stands to gain if consumers switch their choice on nationalistic grounds.
There have been protests by the people in various parts of the country after the face off at Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed by the PLA of China on June 15.
The strategy is likely to be replicated by many handset makers of all major Chinese brands who have their own manufacturing lines in India or outsource from third party vendor in India. The localization level is already at least 60-70 per cent for several handset makers, market observers
said.
We have decided to highlight Made-in-India in our packaging more prominently now onwards, a Tecno Mobile official told PTI on Thursday.
Realmes India CEO Madhav Seth, CEO in a YouTube series said I can proudly say that Realme is an Indian startup, which is now a global multinational company".
Realme is one of the brand controlled by BBK Electronics of China. It has other brands like Techno, Transsion, Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus.
There has been no visible change among the consumers for Chinese products - either for mobile or any other white goods.
"Till now there is no visibility about any disruption. We had seen some short term impact during the Dokalam standoff in the past," a mobile company official said.
Demands have shot up and dealers are asking for products. There has been supply constraints due to limited manufacturing due to COVID-19, he said.
New models of Vivo, Realme are lined up for their launch on June 23 and June 25 on Flipkart. A Realme official said the company's plant is running
in a limited capacity due to social distancing and production is limited.
Chinese companies are meanwhile exercising caution about its expatriates and advisories have been issued about not moving out unless necessary. However, no Chinese company spoke about it officially.
