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Oppo’s spin-off brand Realme is aiming 12-15 per cent market share in the country’s smartphone space by December 2019 and will foray into the accessories market. The company recently claimed to enjoy 7.25 per cent smartphone market share in the January-march 2019 period. “We are aiming at selling 15 million handsets in 2019 and aspire to garner 12-15 per cent marketshare. We will also introduce full-range mobile accessories,” Madhav Sheth, CEO, Realme India, said recently.

Realme, which used to be a pure online player, recently started offline sales after it found that its products are receiving greater acceptance in the tier II to VI cities. “We will continue to be an online focus mobile brand, but want to have offline channel as this segment accounts for 65-70 per cent of total smart handsets sold in the country,” Sheth said. “But, we will restrict our offline trade channel presence limited to just 20,000 outlets across the country in 2019,” he said. Six Realme branded experience zones will be added in the calendar year. With the new strategy, share of offline sale will rise to 30 per cent of total company, he said. The company will have the same pricing strategy in online and offline channels.

According to the International Data Corporation’s Asia Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, Realme had shipped 1.9 million units lagging slightly behind its parent company Oppo which had

a 7.6 per cent market share with 2.4 million unit shipments. Realme is also on the lookout for local sourcing of phone components. Oppo has a manufacturing plant in Noida in Uttar Pradesh with an installed capacity to produce 60-80 million handsets every year. ■