BARCELONA: As it looks to strengthen position in India, smartphone maker
Gionee
said it plans to increase its salesman workforce to 15,000 by end of next year and open over 200 additional brand shops across the country.
The company said it is investing $50 million in manufacturing phones in India, and by June, all the devices that will be sold in the country will be produced locally.
The company has 6,000 salesman across the country and over 30 branded outlets. The devices are available across 25,000 shops across the country.
Gionee, which also announced a new brand identity, will be spending Rs 150 crore in the coming six months on marketing activities to make people familiarize with the new brand name.
"We plan to have a workforce of 17,500 by the end of next year, which include 15,000 salesman across the country. Also the brand shops will be increased to 250 and there will be 350 exclusive service centres,"
Gionee India
country head and managing director Arvind Vohra told PTI.
Vohra said the company will close the current financial year with a turnover of Rs 3,600 crore and aims to achieve a revenue of Rs 500-600 crore every month in the next fiscal. He, however, did not share a target for the fiscal.
He added that Gionee is catering to 60% of the demand for domestic market by locally made phones and 40% are imported from China but by June all the devices will be made in India.
Foxconn is making phones for Gionee at its Andhra Pradesh facility and the capacity will be increased to reduce dependency on imports.
Vohra said they aim to increase their market share to 8% next year from the current 4%. The company sells around 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh devices every month and its best selling phones are in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.