Philips has stepped back with the launch of its Xenium phones in the lower and mid segments, after bidding adieu to the Indian mobile phone market five years ago.
The Dutch company’s brand will be distributed in the Indian market through China’s Shenzhen Sang Fei Consumer Communication Co, which had bought Philips’ mobile phone business long ago and continues to own the rights to its branding in several markets including India.
The Chinese firm manufactures cell phones at its Shenzhen plant, which has a capacity of 15 million phones.
“We are extremely optimistic about the Indian market and are confident to reaching one million sales by March next year. Philips is a trusted brand here and that should help us push the brand,” said Tan Jok Tin, CEO and managing director of Shenzhen Sang Fei Consumer Communication Co Ltd.
He said the company would bring in its 3G and smartphones by next year and would eventually look at backward integration by entering into services segment to develop applications for mobile phones.
“There is a huge talent pool in India, which we will use that to create a complete eco-system for our business,” said Tin.
Of late, there has been a trend of consumer electronics companies tapping mobile phone market after the success of companies Samsung, Nokia, Ericsson and others.
Korean electronics major LG also recently forayed into phone market, which is currently dominated by the Nokia today.
Shenzhen Sang Fei Consumer Communication said it would set up a manufacturing facility in the country once it reached a critical mass of five million sales.
