BUSINESS
HTC, the Taiwanese smartphone vendor, is lining up a slew of initiatives in the next few months to achieve its target to feature among the top three players in India.
The company plans to tap the mass-market segment by introducing handsets below its current lowest price point of Rs 12,000, introduce more waterproofed phones and launch competitively-priced 4G handsets .
It is already in discussions with 4G operators for offering bundling plans.
With a 2.9% share, HTC claims to be number five telecom operator currently.
Sirpa Ikola, senior marketing director for HTC South Asia, said, “Despite the fact that our high-end models are doing much better than our lower-end ones — even in terms of offering better margins to retailers — looking at the price-sensitive India market, we will soon be launching lower-priced HT Desire handsets for this market,” said Ikola.
Besides, rise in mobile data consumption means that handset bundling with operators is also something that HTC is looking at.
“We work very closely with operators to offer subsidised plans -- like six month data plans or free trial period data packs. This bundling has definitely helped sales, based on our experience in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, as people want to use mobile data —especially for social networking — and are even willing to pay more for smartphone with bundled offer and top-up data later.
So in a way, data bundling removes the initial entry barrier,” said Ikola.
Manu Seth, marketing director, HTC India, said bundling also helped the company widen its footprint in areas it was not established.
“We are tying up with established operators in areas like Siliguri, Cherrapunji, for example. For operators, it is also beneficial. For instance, Tata Docomo saw incremental Arpu increase of 25% after tying up with us last year, while RCom earned more acquisitions with our HTC One tie-up recently. We will soon announce a data-bundled tie-up with another Indian operator,” Seth said.
4G bundling in other countries has proved so successful as to make customers switch from 3G to 4G, and in India, being ready with the product, HTC is hoping for similar success, he said.
“We are in talks with all operators for 4G for affordable offerings in line with affordable 4G plans, and are just waiting for right time to market,” Seth said.
HTC is also betting heavily on its ‘exceptionals’ loyal tech-savvy target audience of customers of between 18- and 34-year-olds to promote HTC through word-of-mouth.
DNA TV Show: Delhi Police searches for AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in threat case
ICC Champions Trophy 2025 warm-up fixtures: Will India play any practice game before mega event?
Meet man, IIT graduate, who once worked at Google, OpenAI, now owns...
BTC X8 Bumex Review 2025: Scam or Legit Trading Platform? Quick Facts!
AR Rahman comments on future of music, worries about THIS genre: 'We have lost all…’
UPSC introduces changes in online application process after aspirants' complaints; check here
TRAI's BIG move, introduces new rules against pesky calls, messages, fines telcos for...
Vir Das breaks his silence on India’s Got Latent controversy: 'A good artist will always…'
Who was Kim Rieul? Korean designer behind BTS and MONSTA X’s modern hanboks passes away at 32
Trade Compliance Meets Cybersecurity: Forensic Strategies for Risk Management
Enabling governance to organizations within AWS marketplace: A look at private marketplace
R Madhavan makes BIG STATEMENT about his bank account: 'I don't know how much I have and...'
Asense Interior: Celebrating 11 Years of Redefining Luxury Interiors in Bengaluru
Snow Moon 2025: When and how to witness February's full moon tonight? Know here
Kiss Day 2025: Why do we celebrate this day? Know history and significance
DNA Verified: Is Rashtrapati Bhavan hosting a wedding for the FIRST time? Know truth here
India's retail inflation slows to 4.31 per cent in January due to...
WATCH: Maha Kumbh girl Mona Lisa starts training before filming her 1st movie alongside Anupam Kher
Radhika Merchant stuns in blue and green suit at MahaKumbh Mela, it costs Rs....
BIG move by Mukesh Ambani, Reliance partners with US company, set to drive...
IND v ENG: Why are India and England players wearing green arm bands in 3rd ODI at Ahmedabad?
Tripti Dimri sets major beachwear goals in Maldives; can you guess price of her swimsuit?
Mitolyn Supplement Reviews: Ingredients, benefits, side effects, purple peel exploit
Gaurav Sharma: Visionary leader driving cybersecurity excellence
All About Details: Turning ordinary outfits into statement looks
Duolingo owl is dead? Launguage learning app urges users to respect Dua Lipa's privacy, know why
Why digitisation is necessary in construction industry and why its adoption remains slow
Meet IIT-JEE topper, who created record in Odisha by scoring 99.98 percentile, aims to join...
When is Shab-e-Barat 2025 – February 13 or 14? Check history, significance
THIS is India's last railway station where train never stops, know why
GBS outbreak: Mumbai reports its first death due to Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Ram Gopal Varma questions Rajinikanth's acting, says 'I don’t know if he can exist without...'
Who was Acharya Satyendra Das? Ayodhya Ram temple's chief priest who passed away in Lucknow
Old wedding card mentioning IIT degrees of couple creates buzz on social media; see viral post
Chunky Panday says Shatrughan Sinha advised him to 'make people wait': 'If you are punctual...'
UP Court summons Rahul Gandhi on March 24 over 2022 remarks against Army
Indian consulate in Marseille to strengthen 'people-to-people ties': PM Modi
India’s Top 5 Richest YouTubers: Know who’s earning more than Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia?
Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Mittal are working to revolutionise mobile calling in India by...
DNA TV Show: UP CM Yogi Adityanath's multi-level plan for Maghi Purnima
Tejasswi Prakash reveals why she joined Celebrity MasterChef: 'I am obsessed with...'
Delhi-NCR schools holiday: Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, schools closed tomorrow due to...
'We can teach children AI but...': Sudha Murty urges govt to provide funds to schools to promote...
THIS startup gives whopping bonus to employees for loyalty, they get Rs...
JEE Main 2025 Toppers List Released: Meet 14 candidates who scored 100 percentile this year
JEE Main Result 2025 DECLARED: Get direct link, steps to check NTA score and other details HERE
SHOCKING! Noida family held under ‘digital arrest’ for 5 days, loses Rs 1 crore to cyber fraud