Zopo Mobiles is dedicated to bring the best mobile smart technology at affordable prices to the Indian customers under their brand name Zopo. Zopo, founded in China in 2008, was launched in India in August 2015. Just in a matter of 1.5 years, Zopo has made significant progress in penetrating into the Indian smartphone market. Sanjeev Bhatia, CEO Zopo India Subcontinet & Managing Director of ADCOM and Sahib Bhatia, Operations Head, Zopo India share their company’s vision, strategy and plans for the Indian market.
Sanjeev Bhatia adds, “Within among the Chinese brands, Zopo stands among the top 5 Chinese brands in India. In the coming years, we want to climb up in this ranking. In the last 1.5 years of our existence in India, we under stood the taste of the Indian users and their expectations and that is what make us different from other Chinese brands. Now we are able to develop the products at a price that suits the Indian customers most. The latest Zopo’s Flash X Plus smartphone is the result of our experience with Indian users needs and that is what makes us different from other Chinese brands. We are the first and the only brand offering 365 days replacement warranty and we are also arranging easy finances thru tie-ups with several finance companies.”
Driven by the ideals Zealous, Optimistic, Persistent, Outstanding, etc, Zopo is a brand that is passionate for innovation, embraces the world with an open mind and pursues extraordinary dreams with perseverance. Zopo’s strives to provide smart and intelligent technology to smart phone users in India by providing latest technology at highly cost-effective prices.
Our marketing strategy:
Regarding promotion, channel and marketing strategy, Sahib Bhatia reveals, “We launch phones both offline and online. In offline, we are following traditional model and on online front, our products are available on all important ecommerce sites. But we maintain price parity on both online and offline, so there is no clash between the offline and online channels. In the coming months, we want to launch some models exclusively online, which will not be available offline. Though we launched our brand in India in August 2015, we are yet to start our real promotions, but we have made substantial progress within this short time.”
Right now Zopo has nearly 300 distributors present in nearly 300 cities in India and plans to increase the number in the coming months. Zopo being already present in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities is now planning to penetrate into Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities. They have over 300 service centers spread across India and planning to add more, later this year.
Strong Network:
Sahib Bhatia adds, “Now we have a good channel network in place. For the last one year, we have been doing a lot of online and offline activities and people have recognized us as a brand and Zopo products are getting increasing acceptance in India market. Keeping in mind the budget of Indian users, we give the latest and best features to the users. Looking at the growth of the Indian market, today there are nearly there are nearly 60% feature phone users who are expected to shift to smart phones in the next few years. The current demand of 10 to 15 million smart phones per month is expected to go up to 20 to 30 mil in India and the numbers are increasing daily. We conduct periodically retailers and distributors meets and interaction sessions and we also have schemes for distributors and retailers which include financial incentives and trips. Our strategy is not to launch too many models, but to launch 4 to 5 models in each series which meet the needs of most users and concentrate more on them. Our channel structure is we don’t employ a national distributor but have direct regional distributors who in turn are connected to micro distributors who are in touch with the retailers. We also have started Zopo experience zones in premium retial stores. On online, we are promoting on Youtube, Google and Facebook and other social media particularly for music and news. Next, we are sending our brand vans to different towns and cities and these vans have all our models and have facilities for the visitors to experience our models, see demos and interact with our technical and sales personnel. We are also integrating in our models Indian specefic content and games.”
X Factors:
“We always stay one step ahead of other brands in the market in terms of quality and next we offer more features and better features, such as local language keyboards and more user-friendly apps in the same price brackets. All our upcoming phones will only be 4G VoLTE. In two months time, we are going to launch two new models. First is our model that will be priced at 4999, a 4G VoLTE, which will be somewhat low end, but no other brand can match it in terms of features at this price. The second one will be priced at Rs 5999 which will also be available both online and offline (at the same price). The prices of our handsets are always 10% less than the market prices for similar features, which gives us edge over other brands “ asserts Mr. Sahib Bhatia.
Talking about Zopo’s Flash X Plus and Flash X Series, “Earlier we launched Zopo Speed Series and Color Series which were very well received by the customers. By launching the Flash X plus, our goal is to offer unique camera specs and stylish looking body, our extra special 365 days replacement warranty, all at a price of Rs 13,999. If you are looking for a smartphone that is high on features, tough, elegant in design and includes many impressive applications and features, then Flash X Plus should be the users’choice.”
Sanjeev Bhatia comments, “Our Flash X Plus under Flash Series phones is our latest offering to the Indian customers which is somewhat high-end phone. We are already launched Speed Series and Color Series which were very well received by the Indian users. The Flash X Plus is aimed at upper class and middle class users. The Rs 13,999 price tag is affordable compared with the great features the phone offers. We are expecting even many the low end users to shift to phones. The overall demand will be from all the layers. So we are expecting a decent market share though we cannot say about the share among the phones in the price range.”
Feature Rich Device Flash X Plus:
Flash X Plus gives for the first time 90 degree wide angle for selfie lovers to experience their widest selfie. The front moonlight glow and dual rear LED flash feature gives users brighter, ready-to-share shots even in dim-light backgrounds. The Sony 13MP rear camera commits to provide superb clarity with high light sensitivity, even if you are in dark environments. The world’s fastest 0.16 sec, front fingerprint scanner works well even when your fingers are moist. Handset promises its long-lasting performance with MT6753 64 Bit Octa-core processor. Zopo Flash X Plus cruises on 3GB RAM with 32GB ROM with up to 128GB expandable memory, ensuring seamlessly multi-tasking and snappy performance with amazing 3100 mAh Li-Polymer battery back-up. With Rs 13,999, Flash X Plus is available from March 25 in 4 different unique colours: Royale Gold, Charcoal Black, Space Grey and Orchid Rose. The phone will be available on all Zopo counters across India and online stores like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues.
Make in India Plans:
Regarding Make in India plans, USPs and future plans, Sahib Bhatia mentions, “We are already among the Top 5 Chinese brands in India. In the last 2 years, we have expanded both horizontally and vertically and our numbers are going up. Our brand USP is we provide the right product, at the right time, at the right place. Next, our pre-sales and post-sales services are among the best. Knowing that India is a price-sensitive market, our products are always 10% cheaper than our competitors’ products for similar features. That helps us to penetrate the market better and and we always offer something different and better also in terms of new colors and styles. We want to be among the top smartphone providers in India and then move up the ranks in the coming years.”