Micromax eyes more revenue from TVs, ACs & refrigerators
NEW DELHI: Mobile phone maker Micromax Informatics Ltd is expanding its consumer durables line-up in the hope of stabilising its falling revenues amid stiff competition from Chinese handset makers.
Gurugram-based Micromax, which is now trying to position itself as a consumer electronics company, targets about 30% of its revenue from categories other than phones by fiscal 2018-19.
For the current fiscal year, these categories are likely to account for 20% of overall revenue, said Micromax co-founder Rajesh Agarwal.
Micromax, which already sells air conditioners and televisions, is launching washing machines and refrigerators and expects the consumer electronics category to contribute ₹2,000 crore in revenue by 2020, Agarwal said.
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, Micromax reported revenue of ₹5,614 crore, a nearly 40% drop from a year earlier, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies.
Agarwal hinted at a further decline in revenue for this year but did not disclose the exact numbers.
The company expects to close 2017-18 with revenue of ₹1,100-1,200 crore for the consumer electronics segment, Agarwal added.
Micromax, backed by Sequoia Capital, TA Associates and Sandstone Capital, the largest Indian handset manufacturer has struggled to keep pace with Chinese firms like Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Gionee, which have flooded the Indian market with cheap yet reliable smartphones.
“We have a conviction that we can be a big consumer electronics company,” said Agarwal.
The company is targeting 5% market share of the refrigerator and washing machine segment in the first year and about 7% in the next 24 months, he added.
“India’s consumer electronics segment is growing at 11-13% and we want to address the mass market segment by launching affordable consumer durables,” Agarwal added.