Gionee Smartphone is planning aggressive expansion as part of its strategy to capture a larger pie of the smart phone market segment in India.

The company has laid out an aggressive retail expansion plan by opening 250 stores by the end of this fiscal. The company has opened 12 such stores nationally including one launched at Ahmedabad on Friday.

"Gujarat is a big market for us, with about 10 per cent of our total sales coming from this market. We will open 10 per cent stores or total 25 stores in Gujarat in a year's time," said Arvind Vohra, India Head, Gionee Smartphones, at a media briefing here after the launch of company's first Exclusive Brand Store in the state.

The company has overall market share of 4-5 per cent in the smart phone segment in the country. "In Gujarat, we have about 10 per cent market share and in Rajasthan we hold 20 per cent market share," said Vohra adding that the company has been growing at multiple times the growth of the smart phone industry in India.

"Our average realisation from each unit of sales from Gujarat is Rs 8000-8,500, against national average of Rs 7,000-7,500 per unit. We are selling about 1,500 units a day in the State," he said.

According to Vohra, the company had reported turnover of Rs 500 crore last year, while it expects to touch Rs 2,500 crore this fiscal, indicating five times growth in a year's time.

Gionee will be expanding its retail presence across the country and plans to open 2,500 shop-in-shops this year will also increase its service centers to 750 from 700+ already existing.

Encouraged by the growth in the country, the leading Chinese mobile phone maker is also planning to set up a manufacturing facility in India.

"However, we have not finalised any location or project details for the same. But it makes sense to be at one of the fastest growing market. In a couple of years we may finalise on this," informed Vohra.

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