INTRODUCING MICROMAX MOBILES IN INDIAN MARKET

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

NAME : PRANAV MISRA

REG NO. 10BSP1359

SECTION : B

SUBMITTED ON: 27TH JULY 2010

INTRODUCING MICROMAX MOBILES IN INDIAN MARKET

OBJECTIVE: To study micromax mobiles in Indian market and to identify their marketing strategies.

INDUSTRY PROFILE:

NOKIA 54.1%LG 6.4%SAMSUNG 9.7%MOTOROLA 5.9%MICROMAX 4.8%SONY 5.8%OTHERS 13.3%

The growth has more or less flat [owing to low sales figure in Q1] – in

total, 101.54 million units of sales were registered.

Local manufacturers have grabbed 18.1% market share [from 0.9% in

2008].

Only 5 local manufacturers in 2008 and the number stands at 28 now.

Nokia market share in India fell from 56.2% share in 2008 • to 54.1% in

2009.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd’s share rose marginally to 9.7% from 9.5%.

LG’s share dropped from 7.2% to 6.4%.

Courtesy: IDC report on growth of mobile sales in India, 2009

Of the local manufacturers, Micromax leads the race and holds a market

share stands of 4.8%.

COMPANY PROFILE: Micromax Informatics Ltd is a New Delhi, India

based Telecom manufacturer and distribution partner to Nokia, Samsung, LG

etc for their IT / Telecom products in India. With an annual turnover of INR

5000 million, Micromax has offices in all major India cities and global offices

in Dubai and USA.Micromax has been making supplies to the Indian GSM

operators for their different telecom requirements and is now expanding their

product range to the global markets. Micromax's products comes with a qualty

seal meaning product satisfaction, high relieability resulting in repeated

business. Micromax has their own 24 hour operational customer service centre

just in case you need that small bit of information albeit at the wrong hour.

MARKETING METHADOLOGY:

Micromax, started operations in 1991 as an embedded software design firm, but

was incorporated as a company in 1998, when it branched out as a distributor of

computer peripherals such as printers, monitors, scanners from manufacturers

such as LG, Sony Inc., Dell Corp.“We hope to be present in at least one country

each in Latin America, Middle East and Africa before the end of the financial

year,” Jain said.

Geographical Segmentation: The firm has identified Brazil, Nigeria and

Dubai as target markets. Micromax specialized in entry-level and mid-segment

handsets priced between Rs1,800 and Rs2,400 when it started selling the

devices in 2008, confining itself to small towns and rural areas in the first 12-18

months. One of the major aspects that contribute towards the substantial

monthly growth of Micromax is its 80% sales in the rural areas. 

Micromax is planning to expand its range in keeping with new market demands.

It is readying several high-end handsets, including phones that will run on

Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating systems (market

stretch). The handsets are expected to be available in “April or May”, Jain said

Having gained traction, Micromax is also working on a strategy to create

awareness in the metros, which includes tying up with MTV for co-branded

phones.

Distribution channels: “Once you have established a good distributor network

and sales are robust, the next logical step is branding exercises to ensure

consistent brand re-call among your target consumer base,” said Romal Shetty,

executive director and head telecom practice at audit and consulting firm

KPMG India. Encouraged by its success, the firm expanded to larger cities and

now has a distribution network of 55,000 retailers, which it plans to scale up to

70,000 by the end of March as part of its strategy to raise sales to 1.5 million

handsets a month.

Branding: Micromax has also tied up with a Bollywood celebrity “who will be

announced shortly” as brand ambassador, Jain said. Bollywood star Aamir Khan

endorses Samsung phones.

The Micromax phones are designed by the in-house research and development

team, as is the embedded software. The on-board chips come from MediaTek

Inc., Qualcomm Inc. and Infineon Technologies AG—the last two also count

Nokia as a client. Manufacturing is outsourced to about 11 factories in Taiwan,

South Korea and China.

Micromax has invested Rs100 crore to set up a plant in Baddi in Himachal

Pradesh as it feels outsourcing manufacturing completely leaves the door open

for supply-side uncertainties. Production will be scaled up from an initial

50,000 per month.

Micromax is one of the leading Indian Telecom Companies with 23 domestic

offices across the country and international offices in Hong Kong, USA, Dubai

and now in Nepal. With a futuristic vision and an exhaustive R&D at its helm,

Micromax has successfully generated innovative technologies that have

revolutionised the telecom consumer space. Micromax is on a mission to

successfully overcome the technological barriers and constantly engender “life

enhancing solutions”.

The company’s vision is to develop path-breaking technologies and efficient

processes that incubate newer markets, enliven customer aspirations and

continue to make Micromax a trusted market leader amongst people. The

Micromax ideology stems from its rooted belief in ‘Innovation’ and delivering

“nothing short of the best”.

Product line: Micromax has a lot of “firsts” to its credit on their versatile

product portfolio. It was the first to introduce: Handsets with 30 days battery

backup, Handsets with Dual SIM / Dual Standby, Handsets Switching Networks

(GSM - CDMA) using gravity sensors, Aspirational Qwerty Keypad Handsets,

Operator Branded 3G Handsets, OMH CDMA Handsets, etc

Promotion: With a 360 degree advertising (media, internet, TV and print

media) and marketing strategy sketched out, the company has an optimistic

outlook for the telecom consumer space. Currently present in more than 40,000

stores across the country, the company plans to have an aggressive market

incursion to reach out to its customers through 70,000 operational stores in the

coming year.

After building a strong presence in the rural market, where the prominence of

both subscribers and operators is rapidly increasing, Micromax’ is now

progressively moving towards establishing its foothold in the competitive urban

towns as well.

With young enthusiasts as its anchor, Micromax Informatics Limited has

created a niche for itself in the telecommunication industry. Micromax ventured

into the telecommunication industry with an end-to-end solution of Fixed

Wireless Devices and Wireless Data Cards.

In the year 2008, after delivering upon the technology of fixed wireless-

powering desired products, the company forayed into one of the most

predominant genres of telecommunication – Mobile handsets. Since then

Micromax has received commendable response for its unique and interesting

handsets.

Innovation, Cost-Effective, Credible and an Insightful R&D, have now become

synonymous to Micromax in the telecom vertical. Today Micromax has become

a brand which people relate and look up to for realizing their individual device

preferences and other out-of-the-box solutions.

FINDINGS:

According to recent figures, Micromax has grasped the no. 3 spot in the sales

figure due to its innovative and well established services. Micromax has set up a

manufacturing plant in Himachal Pradesh. It has concentrated more on

providing the latest technology at an affordable price which has led to its

enormous growth and brand value. Micromax is developing newer and newer

application inbuilt phones which is attracting Indian customer. The unique

feature with a high end battery backup has grasped most of the middle class

customer. It has revolutionised the market in last two years. With almost no

shares to 4.8% in 2009 and 10% in current year, it showed an exponential

growth in the Indian market.

SUGGESTIONS:

Micromax should improve it research and development wing in India and

provide an exclusive warranty to its customers. They should try to establish its

brand value by providing latest technologies. They should reach the rural

market and try to aware them about the utility of high end phones. The ease of

use of micromax can target this market and make a huge profit out of them.

They should concentrate more on selling the volume of phone rather than

making money out of them.

CONCLUSION:

In my study I found out the marketing strategy of micromax and the

methodology they are opting. They have made certain types of mobile phones

which are for people which opt for cheapest and reliable set. They also have

made phones for youth who cherish technology with style. In a way they have

been working hard on reaching most of the market.