The Indian smartphone brand, Lava made its comeback in India in 2021 with the launch of Agni 5G. By launching the Agni 5G, Lava became the first Indian smartphone brand to launch a 5G smartphone. Beside that, Lava has become a popular name in the budget segment of the Indian smartphone market. Not just that but it has also expanded itself to the accessories segment with Probuds and other audio products.
To talk about the brand’s growth and future plans, we have Sunil Raina, Managing Director, Lava International on the latest episode of MSP Tech Pods. Here are the key takeaways from the latest episode of MSP Tech Pods.
You can click on the play button above and listen to the entire podcast.
How Has The Smartphone Trend Changed in the Past Few Years?
Lava is an old brand that was highly in demand during 2010 even when 2G was there in market. Since then, the mobile phone landscape has changed entirely in India. We asked Sunil how the trend in smartphones have changed so far. He said the smartphone revolution and Android launch changed the whole ecosystem. Every user, during that time, was excited about the touch display phones.
According to him, consumers bought Android phones to play Angry Birds primarily. Coming back to the present, the smartphones have become a part of our existence. Everything related to us is now dependent on smartphones.
Interestingly, he stated that software development on smartphone matter as much as hardware.
How Does Lava Position Itself Against Premium Brands?
Lava’s smartphone portfolio is mainly between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. The company targets the audience that are looking to purchase affordable smartphones with good specs in it. On being asked how Lava differentiates itself from premium brands, Sunil replied that the company has already expanded itself to Rs 20,000 price segment. In the past, they were limited by two things: resources and experience. He said these big premium brands have been here in the market for a long time and they have more experience to maintain themselves in the market.
Lava has a big user base in rural areas, speaking on which Sunil said that it is important for them to understand the user’s demand there and give them the best design, good build quality, etc with WhatsApp and other apps so that they can experience a smartphone.
How Lava Plans to Capture the Market?
Lava, in an interview to Economic Times, said that it plans to capture 10 per cent market share in smartphone market within two years. We asked Sunil how the company plans to go ahead to achieve this target. He said that to achieve this target they will have to put more focus on their upcoming products like they did with the Agni 2. The company plans to give value proposition at each price point just like the company offered the curved AMOLED display and Mediatek Dimensty 7050 chipset at Rs 21,999.
On ground, Lava claims that it has the largest distribution network in India with strength of 1.2 lakh retailers. Furthermore, the company plans to improve the after sales service. An example of this is the pickup and drop service of Lava phones to customer’s doorstep in case something happens to device.
Raina looks confident about Lava’s growth in India and the company’s plan to capture a big pie of the Indian smartphone market in the coming years. The company is currently going aggressive with the budget launches and competitive pricing. To stay updated with Lava mobiles or MSP Tech Pods, keep visiting MySmartPrice.
