Micromax enters premium segment with Dual 5 series

Handset maker Micromax Informatics Ltd on Wednesday launched the Dual 5 series claiming its entry into premium segment and said it expects a 10% market share of the category within the next twelve months.

Gurgaon-based company defines premium segment as the ₹20,000 – 40,000 price range of smartphones.

Micromax, which held back handset launches and any aggressive marketing plans in the last two quarters, expects to introduce four to five new phones in the premium segment over the next three months, said Rahul Sharma in an interview.

“We chose to be less aggressive and take a step back…you have to say no at times to focus on long term growth rather than short term. We wanted to stay away from the aggressive discounting in the market and then demonetization happened and we intentionally pushed our product releases,” Sharma added.

According to Sharma there is much more sanity in the market now with respect to pricing. “We did not want to sell our products at losses like our Chinese counterparts were doing. Now with one Chinese company already struggling in the Indian market and others revisiting their pricing strategy, we want to get back and reclaim our position,” Sharma added.

Earlier this month, Chinese firm LeEco downsized its operations in the country, raising concerns about its business prospects in India.

Micromax has lost a significant market share during the last two quarters and slipped to a number six position in the smartphone market, according to the fourth quarter 2016 smart phone shipment data by IDC.