Warc, 5 August 2013
NEW DELHI: Sony, the electronics manufacturer, is targeting
"tech-savvy" shoppers in India, as part of its broader strategy of
focusing on the premium end of the smartphone market.
The Japanese company recently rolled out its Xperia Z Ultra
handset, which has a 6.4-inch, high-definition screen, in India.
"We want affluent, tech-savvy consumers," Tadato
Kimura, consumer unit head, mobile division, at Sony India, told the Wall
Street Journal. "We don't want to sacrifice profitability."
At Rs46,990, this gadget carries a relatively high price
tag. In a bid to tempt buyers, Sony has allied with Vodafone to provide eight
gigabytes of data without any fees for the first two months of subscriptions.
"We want affluent consumers who want to enjoy
technology. The tablet market in India is low cost driven and we have no
interest at all in that segment ... we are aggressive in smartphones,"
said Kimura, as reported by the Hindustan Times.
Figures from IDC, the research firm, suggest Sony was the
fifth-largest player in the Indian smartphone sector during the first quarter
of this year, behind Samsung, Nokia, Micromax and Karbonn.
"We want to be among the top three players by next
year," said Kimura.
Sony India currently sells around 150,000 devices a month in
India, he added. It holds roughly 7.5% of the entire smartphone category,
rising to 13% in the premium segment.
"We want to become the top player in the premium
segment with around 30% [premium] market share in a year," Kimura said.
Data sourced from Wall Street Journal/Hindustan Times; additional
content by Warc staff
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