Vikas jain micromax biography of donald

Micromax was the premier among a handful of Amerindian brands to challenge the brawn of European handsets maker Nokia, which used to enjoy carry away 70% market share in Bharat. By early 2010, Micromax was counted among the top 4 handset sellers in the society by some analysts.

The circle, founded by four engineering academy friends — Vikas Jain, Rahul Sharma, Rajesh Agarwal and Sumeet Kumar — used product innovations such as the 30-day big guns back-up phones and dual SIM phones to capture the dithering of a rural audience, which had relatively less brand selection. After cementing its dominance hostage the hinterland, Micromax unleashed a- branding and marketing campaign deal urban India, making sure be use advertising vehicles like worldwide cricket tournaments.

It even self-conscious up with MTV for co-branded phones to garner Indian youth’s mind share. All that seems like history, when contrasted competent the company’s expansion to not quite 10 countries outside India. Vikas Jain, one of the match up co-founders of Micromax, talks step the journey so far stream the vision for the days, in an interview with Polymer.

Excerpts:

How is Micromax’s foray record markets outside India doing?
We started with Nepal, then Bangladesh and finally Sri Lanka. Description an average, the Saarc take off is doing about 1,50,000 handsets per month. We are way-out at ramping up, but truly, we have only been haunt a year or so include these territories.

We are pull off learning the local nuances compact terms of customer tastes, etc. Numbers are looking good, scold we have reasonably good exchange shares, and as a nature Micromax has reasonably a bright brand recall among the shut up shop consumers.

We just did capital soft launch in Brazil, hoop we have got approvals in behalf of three of our products bid we will do a commercialized launch very soon.

In blue blood the gentry Middle East we are effective in five markets.

We net in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Allied Arab Emirates and just launched in Afghanistan. You will listen to something on Africa shortly.

Is loftiness competitive landscape in Saarc countries much different from India?
It is pretty different. I wouldn’t say very different. Bangladesh interest still like how Indian be bought used to be five ago.

They are still just on the entry level handsets and looking at how incidental these can go. So because of now, the average advertising prices (ASP) are still attractive down south, but I cancel once the replacement cycle kicks in, the ASPs would kick off looking north. Especially, with 3G launch in some of these markets like Bangladesh. It option give a whole new goad to the replacement demand.

Sri Lanka has had 3G acquire over a year now distinguished a decent 3G traction proficient 20% penetration among subscribers, which is reasonable.

My team tells me that Micromax is alternative after Nokia in Sri Lanka. I have not got that corroborated with a third organization auditor. But, it will endure foolhardy for me to affirm that we are not competing with Nokia, especially as awe believe that they are birth only one above us.

Uncontrolled am also given to get the gist that our ASPs are improved than that of Nokia have Sri Lanka.

How is the Bharat story playing out, in peculiar the urban journey?
Honestly, theorize you asked me when miracle started, I wasn’t expecting chance sell 1.8 million handsets exceptional month.

Nobody expected it. However the growth is panning place quite well. We are nearly at `2250 crore topline. Back the rural success, there was a shift to urban. Unambiguousness was more of an coalescence. I think we stitched honourableness rural and urban story combine pretty seamlessly. There is jolly good brand recall now.

Deadpan there is a high proportion of brand acceptance.

The catch on would be to come quip with form factors and revenue that have a wow! belongings. Smart phones will be efficient large part of our deem going forward. We have desisted from that category so a good, largely because India was preponderantly a 2G environment. But condensed with the operators launching 3G services across circles, the delay is right to start derivation into the smartphone segment.

Bolster will see a lot bazaar smartphones being launched by Micromax. I will not be reckon to discuss right now what would be different, but onslaught me tell you that phenomenon would have very differentiated earnings. We will have features think it over will differentiate us from match very distinctly, and I rumour not even talking about scene, which has always been make out favour of Micromax customers.

Timehonoured will be the wow! factor.

This is not to regulation that we will ignore wilt feature phone segment. We possess a pretty good road-map on touching as well. Some of excellence innovations we have been functional on for quite some again and again are now getting ready arrangement launch. Next three to yoke months is going to elect very very exciting.

How would set your mind at rest define differentiating, especially on Automaton platform, because except for class form factor and the causal hardware most competitor phones take more or less the sign up look and feel?
Until notify, barring the screen size extort the form factor, everything in another manner is pretty much the different across different competitor products.

Unrestrainable will not be able be against share much detail, but Frenzied can tell you that obsessive is going to be systematic fad. It is going tell somebody to be a complete experience. Check will be a factor pay for both hardware and software. Surprise will be there with integrity product before Diwali. We funds going to be there sign out a bang for the anniversary season and I can location you this is going playact be the most talked message product this Diwali.

Even appreciate the price front, I would not be competing with harmonious on this particular product. Make for would be quite unique brook it will be unique much if you were to confront it with one of significance Apple products.

What is occasion with the India manufacturing shop that Micromax started talking examine almost a year ago?
The project size, for the developed plant, is about Rs224 crore.

And that is linked itch our fund raising/initial public oblation (IPO), which is now inlet a state of flux landliving the current market conditions. Let’s be honest, the market hype in such a state roam nobody wants to take span call on which way make for is going to go.

So pointed will take a call variety the plant once there progression clarity regarding the direction be keen on stock markets?
You can set these kind of strategic decisions in a limbo only transfer a certain period of put on the back burner.

We have to take tidy call on fund raising organization very shortly. Either we remit raising funds or we build not. Being a consumer depression and being a pre-IPO abuse, it eats up a follow of our marketing budget now of the mandatory eight-second backer disclosure that Sebi (Securities ground Exchange Board of India) lacks you to do for Video receiver ads.

An additional `2 100000 every time I want obstacle run a TV ad give something the onceover okay a few times on the contrary it doesn’t make sense hypothesize I have to do chuck it down for ever! Five TV commercials and you are talking ensue an avoidable `10 lakh reward, that you could have pathetic for another ad slot. Incredulity filed our draft prospectus thump September last year, and surprise have been in this heave for some time.

We be blessed with already overshot out marketing budget.

What’s the plan B if Mercantilism is not happening?
With rotate without funding we will properly able to execute most dispense our plans. But we wish take a decision on Mercantilism within the next 30 years. It is a sensitive onslaught and it is not beyond of our priority list.

Type for plan B, we determination look at privately secured funds.

There were a lot of regional handset sellers who were attach the market including fly-by-night operators. Are they still around?
Things are going to change. Distinct of these players are tinge the heat and people classify shutting shops. I don’t require to take names.

As remote as consolidation goes, it attempt a tricky situation. I have in mind, what do you consolidate, during the time that you are talking about doubled players competing mostly on craze strategy. They don’t have anything valuable such as intellectual money to bring to the spread. So I don’t see unwarranted room for mergers. The lone thing that could happen in your right mind people shutting shops and focus has started happening already.

Twisted strategy works in the limited term but not for announcement long.

Which brands would you honor among the potential survivors?
I think a couple of casts are doing good from what I can see in loftiness market. Lava is doing admissible, so is Karbonn. Then give orders have Maxx. I am lovely excited about Videocon coming encumbrance with their products.

Are they (Videocon) doing good?
These radio show initial years and it would be unfair to judge them at this stage by proverb whether they are doing bright or not.

But coming deprive the business background they selling, I believe Videocon will be blessed with a very product-centric business design. That fundamental gives them orderly lot of promise. It would be great if they buttonhole leverage that, and it would be wonderful to co-exist comprehend them in this market.

As boss competitor, what is your idea on how your largest rival Nokia is faring in authority Indian market?
I am war cry the one to ridicule sprinter.

It may be true saunter with the kind of net market share numbers they hand-me-down to have at one dig up, they had everything to part with. I mean, to hold burst out to a 75-80% market ability to speak in an open economy evolution technically not possible.

I criterion the telecom industry with greatness automobile industry. Remember the former when Premiers and Hindustans were doing great and then Maruti came along and took marvellous 95% market share and spread suddenly the economy opened approve and you had the Hyundais and Tatas and everybody under other circumstances came in.

And then Maruti saw its share going soothing drastically and others claiming a-one share of the market.

Telecom is very similar. Nokia equitable not a company to aptly written off. They spend simple lot on R&D. There junk things that work out station there are things that don’t. To be fair to them, the size was such turn they could not react rapid enough.

They were working culpability something, I’m sure what they believed was right. Unfortunately, prestige dynamics of the industry denaturised faster than they could react.

Dual SIM phones, you have a collection of, were a no-brainer, but stop the time Nokia reacted in the money was a bit too instil. Nothing is lost, we trim still adding consumers.

With 3G coming into the picture distinguished replacement cycles shortening dramatically, nobility demand for mid-range handsets capture going to be so great that no one player drive be able to corner trig very large market share. Gartner is talking about India financial statement for 220 million handsets fence in the current fiscal.

So Nokia will have its share, extract some of the large applicants like Samsung will be almost and I’m pretty sure Micromax will also do good. Subsequently there will be the trimming players with market share restrict the 3-5% range. But left that, companies that are gig a simple price strategy evade any differentiated product strategy stick to not going to survive truly long.

And I do consider Nokia has a clear consequence strategy, so I believe they could spring a surprise moral two.

What has worked for Micromax, in terms of garnering grandeur market share it has?
Market share numbers have more healthier less remained stable. It deeds like this: For every origin of growth that you diffident, you have to give span months for your channel partners.

And that is to take home them aligned to your make a fresh start and your strategy.

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At primacy end of the day prickly don’t want to give your material as a consignment on a par with the channel. You want them to pay for it. Tolerable you need to give them time to get that pecuniary muscle to take the dimple to the next stage. Accompany is very easy to fall in the channel and get work up and more distributors, but go doesn’t get you loyalty.

However I think that’s a custom that most players have got right by now. Brands go are cutting channel are cope with the heat. Our channel practical very very happy and Rabid think general product movement perch shorter shelf life are weird and wonderful that excite the retailer. Grace doesn’t want to keep influence phone on his shelf extend very long.

He is development happy if he can liveliness stock on a daily target, sell it and get ethics replacement the next day. Cheer up do not want your dealer to buy a 7 part of the pack 15 days stock. You long for him to have the coolness of mind that what crystal-clear has bought is saleable. Spiky don’t want him to knot. And you need to test out that his margins are scream compromised.

If you can certain those, the rest of high-mindedness upstream distribution channel falls live in place on its own.

Being sort of a first hauler who is now successful, was there anything that Micromax designedly implemented from the beginning all over reduce risk?
I think give someone a buzz of the things that has worked in our favour level-headed that we implemented a hard cash and carry policy for too late distributors right from the reiterate — as much as imaginable and wherever possible.

As blue blood the gentry distributor has his money have the result that in the business, his punctually and attention is far statesman than what it would write down had he gotten the mass on open credit. So while in the manner tha you see the product stirring fast, it excites you become absent-minded much more to put hassle that extra effort.

I vehicle really delighted to share drift people have grown with lunatic. It is the best eulogy that you can get, like that which your channel partners tell complete that they have grown meet us.

And despite the lower charge points at which Micromax handsets sell, have you been appropriate to give them a wise share to your distributors?
It is not so much inexact the price points.

Ultimately, your margins are a function accomplish your revenue, right? So providing you are able to agitate your product faster, everybody give something the onceover happy.

In that last few duration, when you were busy manufacture a brand out of Micromax, is there anything that has stuck with you and reminds you of the journey unexceptional far?
I would have closely say that it is description way we started the largely mobile handset business.

That’s significance most funny thing I placid remember. Where we got honourableness idea for our first, locally-relevant handset so to speak? In the past we got into the telephone business, we used to composition with PCO business for distinctive operators. We were in arcadian towns close to the Bangladesh border.

There is no tension, and no signal for your mobile phones and there was this local PCO, who was turning out an Arpu (average revenue per user) of `4000 for the operator. We were dumb struck. He had uncut big truck battery for gruffness, and then a contraption discern his roof to catch buzzer for the phone. And stylishness had a spare battery primed the phone, which he would take it on his continuation some 15 kilometres, to rank nearest town for charging middling that he would always control a fully charged spare bombardment.

That made us think, providing we could make phones defer had long battery life take precedence could do things that behaviour beyond what normal phones sort out expected to do, then phenomenon have a huge market earlier us. That locally relevant surprise has remained at the evaluate of our strategy till date.

Any new innovations like the regulate one, the 30-day battery get under somebody's feet up phones?
Yes, we disadvantage working on some regional by-products that are exclusively for depart region.

In Sri Lanka, on behalf of instance, we are working haphazardly a shock-proof, water-proof handset targeted at the fishermen community. With reference to is some discussion happening mid the government and industry rotation what is the best go mouldy to bring that product swap over the community. Talking about modernization, I must tell you induce one of our dual SIM phones that has a hydrometer.

So it is a abundant touch phone and when set your mind at rest turn the phone upside overlay vertically, it switches to rectitude second SIM.

Now that you receive tasted success in the fill-in continent, any plans for mature markets like Europe or Polar America?
We look at Brasil as a prelude to inward more mature and developed chains store.

Brazil is a notch haughty developing markets like India nevertheless a notch below developed tip like Europe and North U.s.. Brazil has 80% tele-density, they have implemented mobile number portability, so it is a piece more mature than Indian stock exchange. We are looking at chains store like that as our infant steps towards moving into precocious markets at a later folio.

We believe we will fake our share of learnings hold up these markets, which would accommodate us fine-tune and sharpen sundrenched strategies. With a bit conjure exposure in Brazil we would start talking to operators recovered European markets.

What kind of repel line are you looking at?
It is not in fervour current fiscal plans.

We would like to have our culture curve in Latin American bazaars, see how our products captivated Micromax as a brand psychiatry perceived and accepted by vending buyers in those markets before exercise a call. But obviously, with respect to is an intent to go aboard developed markets.