Taking a shift from its tried and tested online-only retail model in India, Motorola is now going to start selling its devices at Brick and Mortar stores as well. Not just Motorola, but Xiaomi too disclosed a similar plan for its mobile sales.
Confirming the move, Chen Xudong, Chairman of Motorola Mobility operation board, told Economic Times,“Motorola will go offline to make sure that more people buy Motorola products from brick-and-mortar stores in India.” Interestingly, Motorola was the first company to initiate the online-exclusive sales model in India by collaborating with e-commerce giant Flipkart.
Xudong is of a view that Indians still go by the traditional method of taking the device in hand before buying it, so keeping that nature in mind, Motorola has come up with new sale strategy. The company is also eying upon utilizing Lenovo’s strong physical market presence in India. Also, what seems stronger reason behind the sudden shift is that Motorola suffered a drop in sales after other Chinese brands like Xiaomi entered the online market. In a bid to claim its share, the company is going to employ an offline strategy.
Moreover, Lenovo and Motorola are also going to set up manufacturing units in India at the Sriperambudur plant in Chennai, in collaboration with contract manufacturer Flextronics. Initially, both the companies will start manufacturing the Motorola Moto E and the Lenovo K3 Note in India. If all goes well, then Motorola has plans to manufacture up to 6 million units in India. It does not mean that Motorola will stop its online model; it will now sell mobiles online and offline both.
