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Chinese tech-major Huawei is planning to expand its product portfolio in India, as it eyes entry into categories like laptops, tablet PCs, wearables, IOT-enabled smart devices and others. The portfolio expansion is likely to happen over the next six months or so.
The company’s present portfolio includes smartphones under the eponymous mother brand, Huawei.
According to Tornado Pan, Country Manager (Huawei Brand), Consumer Business Group, Huawei India will be bringing in its global offerings (and brands) here eyeing the mid-premium and premium categories.
Plans are afoot to launch the company’s laptop ‘Matebook’ soon.
“We do have plans to expand the product portfolio may be within the first half of this year,” he told BusinessLine . Pan was in Kolkata for the launch of the company’s new mobile phone, ‘Huawei Y9 2019’. Since Huawei does not have its own assembling or manufacturing units here, the products will be imported.
Mid to Premium category
According to Pan, the company would eye smart-phones targeting primarily the mid-premium, premium and super-premium ranges. Price-wise these devices will be placed ₹16,000 and upwards.
In fact, while Huawei’s sub-brand Honor too is a mid-to-mid-premium player, chances of one product cannibalising another does not arise.
“Huawei’s specifications are aimed at a separate set of customers different from any other brand. Moreover, our mid-premium offerings are driven by customer demand,” he said.
Sources say, in India, the big smart-phone fight is in the mid-to-mid-premium ranges while the super-premium segment is all about Apple and Samsung. The premium and super-premium segments are not volume drivers, and account for less than 10 per cent of the market.
As a conscious decision, Huawei will not enter the mass and entry level segment (sub-₹12000 range).
Distrbution channel
While devices will be made available both online and offline, customer-demand will ultimately determine product placements across the two channels.
In fact, depending on demand, Huawei has previously extended online products to brick-and-mortar stores.
“We will be present wherever there is customer demand,” Pan said adding that the company was planning to expand presence across offline stores.
Standalone stores can be explored at a later stage, he added.
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