BackVivo’s new ₹1,100 cr, 170-acre facility to come up in Greater Noida
Vivo will continue to expand offline sales via 70,000 touchpoints, and 650 exclusive outlets
PremiumNew Delhi: Chinese smartphone maker Vivo will invest ₹1,100 crore to set up a 169-acre manufacturing plant in Greater Noida. The facility is likely to be operational by 2024, Yogendra Sriramula, brand strategy head for India, Vivo, said in an interview.
The investment is part of its plan to double annual manufacturing capacity to 120 million units, from the existing 60 million. It has set aside ₹7,500 crore for its expansion plans.
“In phase I, we said that we will invest ₹3,500 crore. We have already infused ₹2,400 crore and the rest ₹1,100 crore will be invested over the rest of this year. By the beginning of next year, we should be able to start phase I of our new manufacturing facility."
Sriramula said Vivo is on track to export more than one million handsets in 2023, after facing initial hurdles from Indian customs authorities last year when it began exports to Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
“Our manufacturing facilities in India meet global standards and we have the capability to meet demands from any part of the world. We are in 60-plus countries and regions and will be able to export devices wherever there’s demand."
While all Vivo smartphones are made in India, the company intends to increase local sourcing of components and sub-components that go into assembling the smartphones. Vivo assembles motherboards for all smartphones using surface-mounted technology.
About 95% of battery components it uses, and 70% chargers and earphones are also sourced locally. “We are looking at more components. We want to focus on displays next. We have signed some agreements," Sriramula said but did not elaborate further.
Vivo will continue to expand offline sales via 70,000 touchpoints, and 650 exclusive outlets,even though a significant part of its retail volumes come from online sales, he added.
“Our investments in retail matches our investments in manufacturing. So that’s how focused we are." Retailers who are part of its network make a fifth of their revenue from selling Vivo phones, he claimed.
According to industry insiders, brick-and-mortar outlets will gain prominence in coming months, with Apple opening its flagship stores in India next week. In-store customer experience and iconic design of Apple stores is likely to drive other premium brands to beef up their strategies, even as the Indian smartphone market experiences stagnation.
Sriramula said Vivo was the largest player in offline market for the past 13 quarters, and it had gained market share in the premium segment ( ₹30,000-plus) to 13% in 2023 from just 0.3% in 2019. Vivo intends to cement its position in this segment, while focusing on sub- ₹15,000 affordable 5G smartphone range, including T2X, which was launched for a price tag of ₹12,000 this week.
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