Micromax, 3rd largest GSM Mobile vendor in India

New Delhi: When four friends planned to diversify their IT hardware distribution business and start making mobile phones, which would specifically suit Indian consumers, did not know that after two years, they will be giving mobile handset majors; such as Nokia, Samsung and LG, a run for their money, reports Economic Times.

In the two years of span, Micromax grew to become the third-largest GSM mobile phone vendor in India, after Nokia and Samsung, with a market share of six percent. According to research firm IDC, this Rs.1,600 crore brand, which sells around one million mobiles every month, has a presence in more than 500 districts through 70,000 retail outlets. Speaking on this subject, Vikas Jain, one of the four founders of Micromax Informatics, the company that owns the Micromax Mobile brand, said, "We saw that the MNC brands were not selling phones that suited Indian consumers' requirements. This void had to be filled. So in April 2008, we forayed into the handset market."

Targeting specifically at the rural masses, the company has also started selling handsets that come with features appealing to urban consumers such as music phones, qwerty and internet-enabled handsets. "We wanted to approach the market in a different manner by first going to rural and semi-urban areas, establishing a good distribution base and then targeting the big cities," said Vikas Jain.

Recently, the company came up with a universal remote control phone, one that can be paired to household appliances like the TV, AC, to act as a remote control for them. "We have to be quick in launching new products as competitors can also copy a lot of this soon enough," reasons Jain.