Homegrown smartphone maker Micromax has tied up with Flipkart to jointly develop mobile phones. In a bid to regain its lost market position to Chinese rivals like Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus.
According to a report in the Economic Times, Micromax and Flipkart will jointly develop devices in the Rs 6,000-12,000 range. These will be exclusively sold on Flipkart.
The phones will be sold under the brand ‘Evok’ and are likely to hit the market next week. The price segment that Micromax is launching this brand under accounts for about 50% of the market by Volume and over 40% by value according to ET. The Evok series will have two smartphones – the Note and Power.
According to Indian Express, This is Micromax’s first attempt at creating a smartphone series targeting the online segment. Although the company has long been seen as an offline player, Micromax hopes to break the online territory with its Evok series
While the company has not shared specifics of the phone, reports suggest that the Indian consumer has been kept in mind while designing the phone. The exact details are expected to be shared on April 12.
"It's a long-term agreement with Flipkart where we will be developing products jointly based on the insights and consumer understanding we get," said Shubhajit Sen, chief marketing officer at Micromax. "This is a way of design for India, which will take Micromax's online share up, while it will help Flipkart penetrate deeper into Tier II and Tier III markets, as both are targeting the value-conscious buyer."
Both companies will invest into the Evok series. And while starting this month, Flipkart will exclusively sell the Evok smartphones, it has already been exclusively selling the Micromax Dual5 priced at Rs 24,999.
Most recently, Micromax launched the affordable Bharat 2 smartphone in India for Rs 3,499. The phone comes with a 4-inch WVGA screen, 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB of internal memory and a 2 MP rear camera.