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Chinese phone-maker Vivo has entered India with the newest contender in the ‘world’s slimmest phone’ race with the Vivo X5max with a width of 4.75 mm on Monday.
The smartphone, which is a millimetre thinner than the Oppo R5, will be priced at ₹32,980 in India and will be available by this month-end, company officials said.
Four more handsets Along with the X5Max, Vivo is also launching four more smartphones, which would hit the shelves within 10 days.
These phones, X Shot (priced at ₹29,990), X3S (₹24,980), Y22 (₹10,990) and Y15 (₹8,990), have been launched over a period of two years in the Chinese market and would be introduced in India along with the flagship X5Max. Even as the company has established dealerships across 20 States, the company still seems to be testing the grounds in India.
When asked how many units of smartphones the company intends to bring into India, Jacky Liao, Chief Executive Officer, Vivo Mobile India, said the company would bring in a smaller shipments to see how the process works and would take it step-by-step and add capacity over time.
To set up plant The company has also established exclusive service centres in the 20 States where they have established distributor networks. However, the company’s India plans are long-term. Liao said in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ call, the company would start its production line in the country and establish a plant within three years.
The company, established in 2008, is registered in 100 countries, the company said.
In China, the company said, it has already sold 30 million units till October this year.
Interestingly, Liao said that Vivo, which has partnered with Viacom 18 in India for marketing and communications, plans to sell its products through traditional retail shops and not through e-commerce platforms — as has been the trend recently with companies such as Xiaomi and Motorola.
An official from the company said they don’t want to start selling online yet because that model disturbs market price and the company would first like to establish itself here first. Within three years, the company intends to expand its retail points to 50,000 from the 20 currently.
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