Realme is pruning its smartphone lineup and doubling down on building a premium brand image, while avoiding the mass-market clutter that has defined much of its past portfolio.
The company will now concentrate on just three product lines, GT, Number, and P series, to eliminate product overlap and reduce consumer confusion, even as it prepares to scale up marketing investments under returning executive Francis Wong.
"...we have been launching too many products, and the products themselves didn't differentiate from each other. So, consumers get confused. We need to reduce the total number of products. We want to make sure we are only focusing on three product lines,” Francis Wong, Realme India’s newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer, told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interaction.
Wong said Realme had overcrowded the Rs 10,000–Rs 20,000 segment with too many models and will now be more selective with new launches. However, it has no plans to exit the entry-level category.
Wong, who was earlier Realme India’s CMO and later served as CEO of Realme Europe, said his second stint is aimed at rebranding Realme as a more premium player.
China's Realme will also ramp up its marketing investment this year to convey its premiumisation strategy. “We need to increase marketing investment with a localised approach to build a connection with local users and the community.”
“Realme used to be India's and the world’s number one growing smartphone brand. We are doing well in India after introducing a lot of [strategy] corrections, but it's not up to our benchmark, because it's not just about creating the market share…for us, what matters more is if your brand is popular in India and customers are choosing you when they buy premium phones. From that perspective, we are not satisfied,” he said.
Ready for the festive season
The brand is now making a strong push into the mid-to-premium segment with its GT and Number series, especially during the crucial festive season.
While Realme has started seeing early signs of its premiumisation strategy working, Wong admitted progress is gradual and will take up to three years for the company to establish itself as a serious premium contender.
“To go premium is not an easy job and needs more time to execute. That's why we brought the GT series back last year and are continuously launching phones with flagship features, with prices hovering around Rs 40,000. At this price point, we know sales volume won’t be big. That's why we are now focusing a lot on the number series,” he explained.
“We want to first conquer the mid-range, and then the final step targeting the premium segment. It will take at least three more years for us to get there,” he added.
The company is pursuing a balanced approach between online and offline channels for its three core smartphone lines. “We need to carefully select the channel for a particular product to ensure its success.”
Rival Xiaomi is also shifting toward premium positioning, though the transition has led to a sharp drop in smartphone sales. Wong believes Realme will avoid a similar dip.
“One thing that competitor did was, when they moved their product or portfolio to working offline, they lost their main battleground, which is online. That's why they saw a decline in the market share. Realme is going to take a step-by-step approach while developing our offline channel. There won’t be any drastic changes, so we make sure that we are still healthy from online channels,” Wong said.
He, however, added that there could be a decline in one or two quarters, but Realme will reclaim the share quickly.
In the April–June quarter, Realme’s share declined to 9% from 12% in the same quarter of last year. It completed the top five with 3.6 million units, according to Canalys.
The brand sold around 18 million smartphones in the 2024 calendar year.
Realme has recently expanded its offline presence with large-format retail (LFR) tie-ups for the GT line and stronger penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
The brand expects its Number series, including the new Realme 15, to drive volumes through the year. The 15 series, he said, was developed first for India, with software and AI features specifically designed for Indian consumers.
Currently, the Number series contributes 15% of Realme’s volume. The goal is to raise this to 20% by year-end. “This means more number series need to be sold in the second half of the year.”
Realme will also launch a new online-focused series around Diwali. “With the 15 series and the upcoming online series, we can expect the growth in the Diwali sales. Up. We want to ensure value for money choices to customers during the festive season.”
While Realme recently roped in actor Vicky Kaushal as its brand ambassador, Wong said the company will continue to take a frugal approach to celebrity endorsements. “We are conservative in terms of selecting celebrities to be our brand ambassadors.”
Design partnerships in India
In the last year, Realme partnered with several global design houses to design smartphones and is now in talks with Indian design academies to develop and design smartphones for both the Indian and global markets.
“We're already in discussion with some of them. Next year, when we launch a new series, we want it to be co-designed with a famous Indian design house or institute. We want some Indian flavours to be added into our product portfolio. Getting a design from India for the world will be a big achievement.”
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