Honor is reportedly preparing for its re-launch in the Indian market. The surprising move could happen as early as next month. It could start with launching smartphones once it arrives. In the meantime, the company is busy setting up the team that will take care of operations in India. The team could even be headed by Realme’s Madhav Sheth.
Honor to Re-Enter India: What We Know
Economic Times (ET) has shared a report where it has claimed Honor India is looking for a return by the end of July. It means we are about two months away from the re-launch of the company if everything goes as per plan. It is expected to begin by launching a few smartphone models that will be sold via online shopping portals.
The company has begun the process of setting up a new team responsible for handling Indian operations. Honor is said to be in touch with various Realme and Xiaomi senior executives to see if they would be willing to join. The biggest highlight of the report is that Realme’s Madhav Sheth could become the CEO of Honor India. Sheth currently serves as the Vice President of Realme and President of Realme International Business Group.
While Sheth has responded by saying, “This is a speculation”, the report adds he is currently having conversations about his role with Sky Li, CEO and Founder of Realme. Nevertheless, it would be a huge move from Honor if it manages to pull it off. Sheth has been associated with Realme since its early days and has helped it become the brand that it is today. He not only helped the company become a household name in the smartphone space but also played a crucial role in Realme’s expansion into other categories including smart home products.
Honor used to be a Huawei sub-brand but the latter was forced to sell the company in 2020 due to sanctions imposed by the US government. Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co Ltd is the major stakeholder in the consortium of buyers that ended up buying the company. Since then, it has released smartphones, tablets, laptops, and wearables among other products in China and Europe.
Honor India was also quite active but reports started to emerge last year that the company was exiting the Indian market and pulling its team out due to geopolitical unrest. The company responded to these claims by saying that Indian operations will continue to be run by local partners but with a “very safe approach”. Most recently, Honor launched the MagicBook X14 (2023) and MagicBook X16 (2023) laptops in India.
