KOLKATA: China-based phone maker Gionee, which has come on board as the principal sponsor of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the eighth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), is planning to double its promotional budget to Rs 225 - 250 crore in the current fiscal 2015-16 from Rs 132 crore earmarked last fiscal.
Additionally, to support the growth story of its marketing and branding plans, Gionee, which replaced Nokia as the principal sponsor for KKR, hopes to capitalize the team’s huge following in its home state to grow its market share from six per cent currently to 10 per cent in Kolkata by the end of this fiscal year. The firm clinched the three-year deal for approximately Rs 54 crore.
Gionee entered the Indian market in 2013 and currently has a four per cent market share in the Indian mobile phone market. The company is hopeful that the KKR sponsorship will help double its market share to eight per cent in the Indian mobile space.
“Our numbers in Kolkata are already ahead of the national figures, we are expecting that this initiative will take us to a double-digit share in Bengal,” said Gionee India country MD and CEO Arvind Vohra.
On its association with KKR worth Rs 54 crore, Vohra hinted that it will give the company the extra push to achieve the target figures.
When asked about the synergies between the two brands, the official said that Gionee Communication and KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan share a lot of common qualities. “Both Gionee and SRK started at the bottom and have risen to the echelons of their fields,” he said.
Popular for it’s ‘world’s slimmest and sexiest phone,’ Gionee differentiates itself on its unique offering. Vohra plans to keep his customers hooked by constantly innovating the product.
At present, it runs through a joint venture (JV) model with Syntech technologies. The company, which currently works on an outsourcing model, aims to have its own ‘Make in India’ manufacturing unit in year’s time. Gionee is planning to invest Rs 300 crore in building a manufacturing facility in India. The firm, which sold 40 lakh mobile phones in the country in 2014-15, might go for contract manufacturing in order to kick-start mobile production in the country.
Majority of its 10-12 new phone models that are slated to launch this year, would be manufactured in India. The firm has already appointed E&Y to advise it on setting up manufacturing facility, which might also produce phones for neighbouring countries.
Talking about other states, Vohra said that Gionee has already achieved double-digit shares in markets like Rajasthan and Gujarat.
When queried about the company’s turnover targets, Vohra said that the company is looking at a 100 per cent growth in the coming fiscal.
