You probably didn’t hear too many things about Coolpad, but neither did we. Oh, maybe expect for the fact that Micromax’s first Yu smartphone has been strongly suspected to be a rebranded smartphone made by the aforementioned company. Anyway, we could soon start hearing more news regarding Coolpad, as the company has now made official its debut in India.
We’ve already lost count of how many new Chinese companies are entering the Indian market, but it’s no wonder, as the country is somewhat close to China and India is also the world’s third largest and the fastest growing smartphone market. And even if Coolpad doesn’t ring a bell, you should know that this company was once the biggest smartphone vendor in China, but it didn’t manage to keep up with the strong and mature competition coming from other companies.
Coolpad is apparently serious regarding its operations in India as it has hired Varun Sharma to head its India operations (the former director of strategic alliances at Flipkart) and it also plans to set up its own manufacturing and R&D center in the country. Coolpad said it is targeting the sub-Rs 15,000 price segment in India, which, as we all know, is perhaps the most aggressive segment of the mobile market at the moment.
Li Wang, Global Chief Operating Officer at Coolpad Dazen, said the following:
India is the fastest growing online smartphone market in the world and we want to be a leader in this market. We are happy to appoint Varun as the Country head of our India operations who brings with him immense and diverse experience in the consumer and online industry. We look forward to bring our great legacy, products and service experience in India through our new and innovative products and give Indian consumers the best smartphone experience at a price point that they want. We are confident with our patented technological innovations; Coolpad Dazen will become India’s number one smartphone brand in the online space.
In its press release, Coolpad cared to mention that it is a holder of more than 6000 patents including dual-SIM, dual standby and other technologies. The fact that the company has appointed former Flipkart executive Varun Sharma could suggest that the company will adopt the online-only sales model, similar to Xiaomi’s strategy.