Dubai: India-based mobile phone manufacturer Lava International is entering the Middle East market in bid to cash in on the growing smartphone segment.
“The Middle East market offers huge potential for growth and people have the capability to consume all the latest products. Our job is to add value to the products and entice the end user with the price factor and value-added features and services,” David Yang, general manager for overseas business at Lava International, told Gulf News after launching its devices on Monday.
According to a survey conducted by Plug Ins, about 60 per cent of the UAE residents own more than one phone. The UAE leads the world in terms of mobile subscriptions with more than 200 per cent penetration rate.
Lava is the second-best seller in mobile phone market after Micromax and the fourth largest smartphone seller in India with a market share of 6 per cent, according to a research firm International Data Corporation. Yang said the phones are priced between Dh150 and Dh1,200.
It is also one of the nine handset makers that will make smartphones under the Android One umbrella, Google’s initiative to offer rich smartphone experience for a price below $100 (Dh367.30) with set hardware and software standards across handset makers.
When asked when Android One phones will be launched, Yang said they are expected next year.
Google partnered with Micromax, Karbonn and Spice in the initial phase to launch the sub-$100 phones and later teamed up with many branded vendors like Asus, Lenovo, Acer, HTC, Panasonic and Alcatel One Touch in bid to connect the next five billion people with the internet and internet-enabled devices.
Yang said that Lava is the only Indian mobile handset brand in the country to have invested in R&D and has a complete in-house product testing set-up in China.
Lava and Xolo are two brands that operate under the parent company. In 2013, he said that Lava sold around 12 million units globally and expects to more than double its sales to 30 million this year.
“We expect to sell around 150,000 units in the Middle East within the next year and become a $1 billion company by end of fiscal year 2014-15,” he said.
Lava will be selling Windows and Android phones and Jumbo has been named as the exclusive distributor for the Middle East region.
Jumbo will be selling six models of Xolo and four models of Lava in mobile phone segment and around four models of tablets.
Ajay Pathak, head of mobility solutions at Jumbo Electronics, said the consumer electronics landscape is changing fast and mobility is contributing around 45 per cent to the retail business compared to 28 per cent last year.
He said the devices will be sold across the Gulf countries and Iraq in a phased manner.