Dubai: The Indian mobile handset brand Micromax plans to extend its retail coverage to Saudi Arabia early in the second quarter. The manufacturer expects to shortly conclude distribution arrangements with a "couple of partners" for that market.
Last October Micromax ventured into the Gulf through link-ups in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
"Getting Micomax into the Gulf's largest market is logically the next big move that we can make in this territory," said Vikas Jain, business director at Micromax Informatics, the operating company. "It relies extensively on the customer feedback that we have had to date from our operations here."
It's as part of this feedback that the brand — until now a volume player — is now making a conscious effort to offer models in the Dh1,000 to Dh1,500 price range.
"We are working on a couple of designs that would suit local tastes and priced higher than what we have on offer now," said Jain. "The hardware and software testing on these new models is taking place in Dubai and we should be good to hit the market in May."
Next month will see three new models, all of which are Arabic enabled, being introduced.
In fact, the Micromax strategy is built on having a fast turnaround rate on new model launches to keep the brand fresh in the consumer mindspace.
But a decision on that other hot commodity, the tablet, is yet to be taken. Jain talks about the tablet definitely being on the company's to-do list. "But first we need to be a differentiator in the mobile phone category and that's the priority."
In Saudi Arabia, Micromax could again go back to being mass market brand given the high potential that exists in the kingdom for that price category.
The brand seemingly came out of nowhere to entrench itself among the Top Five mobile handset vendors in India. To start off, it focused its marketing to break into India's semi-urban and rural marketplace through a slew of affordable models.
For the Gulf, it's more of a mix-and-match strategy as emphasized by the decision to go in for higher priced handsets as well. Come May, when the pricier ones are available, Micromax will have a firmer handle on their prospects in the Gulf.
Future: Working on IPO
Micromax Informatics is "working on the last leg" towards its initial public offering.
"We have received the draft red herring prospectus and will shortly provide the regulatory authorities with our revenue projections and other required details," said Vikas Jain. "Once we have done that, the process should shortly move towards finalising the red herring prospects. After that it's good to go."
Though the official declined to confirm, market sources project 10 per cent of the company's equity could be put up in the IPO.
