Business

First Mobile's aggressive plans

By Our Staff Correspondent

MUMBAI MAY 16. First Mobile India (FMI), a 100 per cent subsidiary of First Mobile Group (FMG), Hong Kong, has chalked out aggressive plans for the Indian cellular phone market. FMI essentially offers distribution of mobile phone products to various channels, value-added services, namely, sales of multi-brands, marketing, promotional and after sales services for manufacturers, operators, dealers and end-users of cellular phone products.

The parent company, the $ 6.8 billion FMG, has tie-ups with nine different mobile brands across the globe and offers the customer a product portfolio of over 50 models of mobile phones. The company is able to supply products at significant discounts to retail price. "We work on thin margins as it is a volume game. Normally, there are single brand distributors but FMI is the first multi-brand distributor in India,'' said Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, FMI, while speaking to The Hindu.

The brands include all the big names in the mobile business including Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Siemens. "At present in India, the subscriber base is estimated at 6.5 million and this year will add another four million. Going forward, it will go up by 15 million in three years. The growth of the cellular market in India is exponential. The fourth operator is likely to commence operations anytime now and once that happens, the price war between operators will pick up for marketshare.''

The company essentially imports the hand-sets from the manufacturers and distributes it to channels here. It commenced operations two months ago in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. To date, the company has invested around $1 million in setting up infrastructure and back-end operations. Over the next two quarters, it plans to set up offices in Kolkata, Nagpur, Baroda, Surat, Indore, Bhopal, Cochin, Thiruvanandapuram, Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. "We are hoping to replicate what we did in China. FMG has been there for the last five years and to cater to that burgeoning market, has invested $18 million over the period.''

Mr. Roy foresees tough competition ahead. "We were the first to get in but there are other players who have been watching the Indian cellular phone market like Celstar from Singapore and Celeucomm from Dubai.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Business

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Lean manufacturing, new mantra
• Napster may die, but music-swapping lives on
• Federal Bank profit up
• Glenmark Pharma net up 33 p.c.
• First Mobile's aggressive plans
• PF organisation orders audit of exempted trusts
• Tisco pays 40 p.c. interim
• Ketan Sheth prohibited from dealing in market
• Stock Market Index
• Exchange rates
• Bullion rates
• Telco in talks with MG Rover team
• RCI India expands network
• SCL to set up fabrication centre
• MTDC signs MoU with Indian Airlines
• New Siena

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu