Sony eyes Rs 3,500 cr revenue from Xperia sales in '13-14

Consumer electronic and IT products manufacturer Sony India today said it is targeting Rs 3,500 crore from sales of Xperia phones in 2013-14 and has earmarked Rs 300 crore for marketing activities. "The launch of Sony Xperia Z today, is the start of our journey to triple the Xperia sales in India, to Rs 3,500 crore in FY 13, starting April 1. The company has taken several steps towards this direction, including tripling the Xperia marketing budget to Rs 300 crore for FY13," Sony India Managing Director Kenichiro Hibi said.

The new dust and water resistant smartphone will be available in the Indian market from March 12. Priced at Rs 38,990, Xperia Z has 5 inch screen supporting full high definition visual display, 13 megapixel camera and built on Android platform. The phone has quad core processors and 2GB RAM.

Sony India also announced that it will launch its 4G technology enabled Xperia tablet Z in May this year. The company has also roped in Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif as its new brand ambassador. Hibi said company would increase its reach across country by doubling the sales channel counters to 8,000 and increasing the dedicated service centres to 300 in the next fiscal from 200 centres at present.

"We will also provide stand by handset to our customers when they come for service of their phone," Hibi said. The company has tied up with Vodafone to offer 8 GB free download for two months to Xperia Z buyers, from the date of purchase.