What is your growth plan for the Indian market?
Currently, our flagship brand, Fly, has 6% share in the GSM market in India. With 9% in Delhi, and is likely to touch 3% of the total market share in the top 35 towns. Our estimated turnover for the current fiscal is Rs 207 crore, and is expected to reach Rs 1,000 crore in the coming year. To steady the growth, we have begun an engagement program with mobile service operators in the country, and have tied up with about 9,000 retail outlets to increase our shop presence from 50% to 70%.

We aspire to increase our market share, and by the end of this year, hope to scale operations to 150 towns in India. We are also working toward upgrading our infrastructure and introducing new technologies and products both in the low- and high-end category.

What market segment are you targeting in India?
So far we have twenty-four models in India, and we are further looking at introducing more handsets designed for the youth.
We have devised some interesting plans for the same, with efforts to bring leading technologies to our handsets. In a period of four weeks we will be launching a set of double SIM phones especially designed for young buyers. Our thrust is also on bringing feature rich and stylish music phones that can become popular with the young generation. We plan to introduce ultra slim handsets with technologies like TV on mobile and Tectium-Back-U-Power. Some of our models earmarked for India are high-end luxury phones with a longer battery life, and that will give us an edge over our competitors.

Most mobile phone manufacturers are now laying emphasis on green technology. Tell us about your initiatives in this direction.

Our aim is to create a system where wastes and spares are minimized. We believe in smart and active asset management, and this in turn reduces return and failure of the product. This is our way of contribution to the environment.

Mobile companies these days are involved in intensive promotion and marketing. What steps are you taking to be in the race?
Meridian believes in getting more value with targeted marketing. At present, we are involved in below the line promotional activities, though we may consider conducting campaigns above the line as well. We do have celebrities like Ishaant Sharma and Malaika Arora as our brand ambassadors, but our priority is to spruce up promotion at point-of-purchase (PoP). We are also working at venturing deeper into the mobile phone accessory market.

Heena Jhingan
heenaj@cybermedia.co.in