The Indian smartphone market grew by 3.2%, with 39 million devices shipped in the second quarter of 2024, market research firm International Data Corporation recently announced.
Interestingly, the market growth was led by Chinese smartphone maker Vivo, which had a 16.5% share in volume terms and whose shipments increased by 6.7% year-on-year.
Within Vivo, the online sub-brand iQOO is developing into a real player, with a market share of 2.1 percent in the domestic market, according to Statista.
Although the brand was only launched four years ago in 2019, current market trends with premium play, online-first and gaming features give it the perfect tailwind for its breakthrough.
The brand has recently entered the entry-level segment with an offering of Rs 10,000 and has taken a fresh approach to its endeavour to reach out to young Indians with the release of ‘The Quest Film’ directed by Shoojit Sircar and starring Bhuvan Bam, and a report that decodes the aspirations of today’s youth and offers them the support they need.
In this interview, Nipun Marya, CEO of iQOO, talks about the importance of Make in India initiatives for the company, its growth story and how the festive season will boost the smartphone market.
He further explains that despite its Chinese character, the brand continues to attract young Indians because of its ethics and offering.
How would you define IQOO’s marketing strategy?
We don’t take the traditional marketing approach. I believe that a consumer group like Generation Z, who are interested in technology and like your brand, will certainly find ways to buy that brand. This is especially true for a high-engagement category like smartphones.
Apart from that, the most important thing for an online brand is to launch the right product at the right price and at the right time. So the focus is more on the consumer demand rather than the brand pressure. For us, the consumer demand is of utmost importance and hence all our efforts are more focused on making the product more popular.
How is the company growing in India?
While it is difficult to quantify our growth, we are still in the early stages so our focus is on building strong foundations for the brand. I am convinced that if we get the brand ethos and soul of the brand right, we should be successful in the medium to long term.
Over the last four years we have grown stronger and stronger.
Also, how are you trying to get rid of the “Made in China” image, if you are doing that at all?
For Vivo, the Indian market as a whole is certainly one of the top three markets. Also, I believe consumers are most concerned about whether a brand’s ethos and offerings are right. Industry reports have shown that IQOO is among the top brands in terms of customer satisfaction, which shows that word of mouth spreads well for us and consumers buy what we sell.
Whatever we sell in India is assembled here at the Vivo factory. The company is committed to the Make in India initiative and is making significant investments in the market.
Looking at some of our initiatives, be it in gaming or eSports or our community building initiative (where today we have over a million young people directly connected with the brand by giving us feedback, attending some of our on-ground events, talking to us and developing marketing campaigns with us), I am proud to say that we are one of the very few brands – not just in the mobile industry but in India in general – that invest so heavily in co-creation with their consumers.
What impact do you think the upcoming holiday season will have on the overall smartphone market?
The outlook for the smartphone market in India is encouraging. There is scope for increasing penetration and ASPs (average selling price) are increasing for our industry in general – especially from absolute entry-level phones to mid-range phones.
We are targeting good growth and market share during the upcoming festive season. The smartphone market is expected to register a growth of 10% in this context.
How was your volume-value growth? What continues to be the growth driver for iQOO?
iQOO has seen strong growth in both metros and tier 1 and tier 2 cities. We entered the entry-level portfolio for the first time last month and launched a product priced just under Rs 10,000. Otherwise, we have always launched phones in the price range of around Rs 14,000 and above. Even for our products in the price range of just under Rs 50,000, we have seen a good response there. There has been very good acceptance among the youth for all types of offerings.
I don’t want to claim that iQOO can drive the premiumization story. At this stage, iQOO’s growth will be driven by good product offerings supported by strong brand appeal among young people.
Shed some light on Generation Z as a consumer cohort.
Today’s youth are characterized by bold dreams and a relentless drive to achieve those dreams. We recently published The Quest Report, which says that one in four Indian respondents are leaning toward modern careers such as content creation, data analytics, AI and cybersecurity. 43% of respondents in India and 46% globally are willing to sacrifice work-life balance to succeed in their careers.
The report also highlighted that twice as many women in India as men feel that their gender influences the pursuit of their dreams and only 9% of India’s Gen Z want to start a business as they seek stability and security in their careers. Indian youth are doers and take twice as much initiative as their peers globally.
Walk us through the recently launched campaign with Bhuvam Bam.
The campaign film is directed by renowned filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, best known for his films like Pink, Sardar Udham and Piku, and features an inspirational message by Bhuvan Bam. The three-minute film tells the story of a young man who, against his father’s wishes, dares to take an unconventional path to pursue his dream of becoming a content creator. The story underlines the importance of pursuing one’s true quest while highlighting the youth’s penchant for a new age career. Conceptualized by Ogilvy India, ‘Keep Questing’ aims to inspire the youth to pursue their passions and follow their dreams and aspirations. The film explores the quest of the youngest son of the family, who strives to achieve despite facing numerous hurdles in life.
Digital is the primary distribution medium and depending on the response, we will look at other distribution methods in the future. The film will be streamed on iQOO’s official YouTube channel, Instagram, Twitter and community platforms. The cast includes Babla Kochar, Anubha Fatehpuria, Yogendra Singh, Aditya and Ebong Ipsita.
