Transsion aims to break into Top 5 smartphone brands in India, go big on exports: India CEO

Transsion India CEO Arijeet Talapatra.

The Transsion Group is aiming to break into the top five smartphone players by volumes and also make India an export hub, the Chinese smartphone company’s country chief executive officer Arijeet Talapatra has told Moneycontrol.

The handset maker is counting on its three brands —Tecno, Infinix, and iTel— for the expansion push.

“In India, we were at the sixth position but this year, we will be in the top five, while our Tecno itself will be the sixth largest handset brand in India,” Talapatra said in an exclusive interview.

Transsion is among the top five brands globally and number one in Africa, the Philippines and Bangladesh, he said.

The company also wants to aggressively push exports from India to regions like Africa.

The long-term goal is to position Tecno among the top three brands in the country, Talapatra said.

He attributed the growth of the three brands to the company’s focus on tier 3 and below markets.

“Forty percent of the consumption is in these areas and that’s where the real growth is happening. The aspiration is high in these areas. We are focusing big time there,” Talapatra said.

The company is looking to drive the bulk of the business through its Tecno brand, with products priced between Rs 7,000 and Rs 70,000.

Infinix’s primary focus is online channels, with phones priced in the Rs 6,000-Rs 30,000 range.

iTel, too, offers smartphones priced under Rs 10,000 but is a dominant player in the feature phone market and the company expects to keep it that way.

“We are still building brand aspiration for Tecno. We are focused on bringing either segment or industry-first products, which has led to growth. We brought the industry’s most affordable flip and foldable phones as well. Competition has never done these things at our lower price points,” he said.

Financing scheme to drive growth 

To drive growth, especially in the premium segment, the company has introduced its financing service, Tecno Finance, on the lines of Samsung Finance.

“The market is moving towards the premium segment. Consumers are upgrading to pricier phones. So, we want to make phones affordable to them. We are launching it pan-India including Kashmir," Talapatra said.

The company is working with aggregator Onesitego and lenders like Piramal Finance for the financing service.

The group will invest in product R&D, including AI and marketing, to increase awareness about its Tecno brand.

“Like what we did in foldable phones, we will also bring generative AI features at affordable smartphone price points,” Talapatra said.

Tecno grew by 20 percent year-on-year in January-March (Q1) 2024. The share of 5G shipment in its portfolio jumped from 1 percent to over 10 percent, on the growing demand for 5G smartphones.

According to market research agency IDC, Transsion Group is the leading feature phone player with its iTel brand and ranks sixth in the smartphone market with a 7.8 percent share through Tecno and Infinix in the March quarter.

Transsion Group's brands collectively held the sixth position in India with a 9 percent market share, research firm Counterpoint has said.

“Transsion offers a diversified portfolio with iTel smartphones and feature phones at entry-level pricing, catering to the sub-$150 segment. In the low-mid segment, Tecno phones are available, including mid-priced devices and foldables,” said Upasna Joshi, senior research manager at IDC India. “Infinix has been consistent in its performance with affordable offerings under $250.”

Counterpoint's research director Tarun Pathak said Transsion brands have begun gaining popularity in India due to their quality, industry-first features and a strong focus on design.

Consumers prefer Transsion brands' phones because they offer more value for money. “The strategy seems working for them and going forward they might give tough competition for the fifth spot in the market. They are constantly outperforming the overall market and witnessed 20 percent YoY growth in Q1 2024 while the overall market grew by 8 percent."

Tecno’s focus has been tier-2 and beyond cities, where it has a better reach and its value-for-money offerings play a part and set it apart from the other global players, Pathak said.

Transsion Group is partnering with e-commerce players to drive volumes for Tecno, which was traditionally an offline-centric brand.

Export push 

On April 9, Dixon Technologies announced it will acquire a majority 50.10 percent share in Ismartu India, a subsidiary of Transsion Technology. Both companies are currently awaiting approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the Indian contract manufacturer said in the recent Q4 earnings call.

Read More: Dixon to acquire majority stake in Transsion's manufacturing unit

“Discussion with Dixon is ongoing but it has still not closed. They are among the top Indian manufacturers and doing well. Once you have a local giant with you, it always helps. The deal will help in control over the local supply chain. The entire supply chain has to be built in India for the country’s manufacturing segment to grow,” Talapatra said.

The tie-up will enable Transsion Group to boost exports to various markets, including Africa, its largest global market, by leveraging Dixon’s production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) approved status.

“For exports, you need to have the supply chain ecosystem including components,” he said.

“We are exporting and want to increase numbers. The biggest market remains to be Africa. Once we shape up India well, we will increase focus on exports. The aim is to cover more countries through India through exports.”

IDC's Joshi said if the deal with Dixon comes through, it would give an edge to Transsion to export larger volumes. "There is a huge demand for feature phones in the Middle East and Africa, which can be addressed from India as well," Joshi said, adding the same was true for entry-level smartphones in the region.