With technology having touched almost all the industries, Tambo aims to redefine technology and the business of telephony in the country. Through its innovative and durable products, Tambo’s utmost goal is to help fulfil dreams and enrich the lives of the customers, partners and people with its superior technology. In a recent conversation with CXOToday, Sudhir Kumar, CEO, Tambo Mobiles, explains how Tambo is set to change the market dynamics and the company’s strategy and plans to move forward.
CXOToday: What are your views on the mobile penetration in India, comparing urban and rural India?
Sudhir Kumar: There is no doubt the mobile telephony has been growing rapidly in India. Yet the divide between rural and urban mobile penetration is still as wide as 41%. The major reason for this divide is the lack of awareness and user-friendly devices. Though the rural mobile penetration has seen an increase in the recent past due to various government initiatives like affordability and accessibility, there is a long way to go before India reaches complete mobility. The rural market for mobile phones is expected to see manifold increase by 2020 as mobile phone seems to be the simpler answer to connect with the otherwise disconnected rural populace. What is needed is better technology, innovative products, efficient business systems, and an understanding of the need of the people. Tambo aims to fill these gaps.
CXOToday: Why is there a gap in mobility in India even after the existence of multiple mobile phone players?
Sudhir Kumar: We see the gap due to lack of awareness and unavailability of user-friendly devices for the rural people. The Indian mobile phone market is full of handset manufacturer companies and has been witnessing cut-throat competition. Despite high level of competition and regular entry of new brands, there is a large untapped rural market which needs ‘Innovation’ in terms of user-friendly technology and easy to use mobile features. While multiple existing and new comer mobile phone brands are targeting competitive pricing as their selling point addressing the issue of low disposable income, the rural mobile phone market requires phones which are designed to suit their need. For many rural mobile phone users, a mobile phone is their first personal device and hence it is important for the mobile phone brand to design products which can be used by one and all with easy user interface.
CXOToday: How does Tambo provide a convenient and user-friendly mobile phone experience?
Sudhir Kumar: Tambo aims to redefine technology and the business of telephonyin India by stressing over the need to develop products, which can be used by people of all strata and all age groups. At the same time, Tambo offers mobile phones at an affordable price range. Tambo’s smartphones are called Superphones because of the latest specs like face recognition, finger print sensor and full view display. Tambo’s feature phones which are called Powerphones offer long battery life keeping in mind the electricity accessibility and the long hours at field of the target audience. The Powerphones also come with user-friendly features like dedicated music keys, time talker, 60-day battery standby, 22 Language support among others, making it useful for a diverse segment of people.
CXOToday: Why is it important for the mobile phone brands to address the issue of low literacy rate in India after having stressed on the low disposable income?
Sudhir Kumar: The mobility gap in India is mainly due to the untapped rural market where more than half the people are not able to use mobile phones. Providing phones at competitive prices alone will not solve the problem of mobility in India. It is also important to recognize that India is a country with low literacy rate and a major part of the audience who do not own a mobile phone currently is due to the fact that they are uncomfortable in using the device. It is important for the mobile phone players to keep the interest of such people at the core while developing user-friendly devices which can be used by them in their own language, with dedicated features which can motivate them to own a personal device.
CXO Today: How is the tagline ‘A mobile for everyone’ relevant to the Indian market?
Sudhir Kumar: We are an Indian brand, which understands the needs of our customers and we aim to deliver phones which can be bought and used by One and all. Tambo entered the Indian handset market with the aim of bridging the mobility gap in India. Our products are packed with latest features and have been designed keeping ‘ease of using phone’ at the core of our design, with features like face unlock, dedicated music keys, time talker, 60-day battery standby, 22 language support among others we have aimed to bring ‘Convenience of using affordable phones’ to India.
CXO Today: Please tell us about your company’s investment, expansion plans, and distribution strategies.
Sudhir Kumar: We are in this business of handsets with a long-term vision. The investments will grow gradually, and we will expand our business as we learn and give back to the market. Our consistent market strategy is to build partners and provide customers with a brand that gives them the maximum value and delights them. We plan to invest around Rs. 600 cr and will set up our own manufacturing unit in Noida wherein the investment needed will be Rs. 300cr. We have set up 600 service centres pan India and aim to establish 1000 service centres by the end of 2018 to provide seamless service to our customers. Tambo devices have been made strategically available offline for better penetration of mobile phones. Our expansion plans are to be in sync with the customers’ and target audience’s needs and develop products that can directly cater to the customers in turn making Tambo one of the best Indian mobile phone brands in Indian by the end of 2018.
