Bouyed by the success of its recent flagships, smartphone brand vivo is on a premiumisation journey where it wants to localise at an experience level, not limiting itself to manufacturing in India.
“In the near future, you will see more actions in the premium segment. We want to be a long term player in premium segment and that is why we are increasing the product portfolio in the segment, catering to the needs of different consumers,” Vikas Tagra, Head of Product Management, vivo India told indianexpress.com days before the company announced the new X Fold5 and X200 FE.
Highlighting how the premium segment in India itself was shifting, the vivo spokesperson said it is all about understanding different segments and their needs. “Brands that are able to understand this change will be able to fulfill their needs.”
Launch of vivo XFold 5 and vivo X200 FE. (Image: vivo)
Geetaj Channana, Head of Corporate Strategy, vivo India attributed the company’s success to its consistency across segments. “People should know we can do it. We want to launch something that people will buy, and want to keep buying,” he added, underlining how vivo has been careful not to launch three different versions in the X series. “We created trust in the market… and then we launched the Fold. It’s a journey… we’ve been on this journey for a few years.”
Tagra said the company has always had a data-driven approach. He gave the example of how consumer data showed the perception of premium phones as being bulky, the X200 FE was an attempt to plug that gap in the market by changing the camera module to become slimmer. Channana added that this is not just in the premium price segment, but across the vivo product portfolio. “We are really learning from the consumer, and giving them what they want.”
The vivo X200 FE. (Image Source: Vivo)
The premium strategy also works because vivo sees about 40% repeat customers across segments and each time they come back to buy a phone they are also upgrading on features and pricing. “Indian consumers are demanding premiumisation, not just from a price point but also from an experience perspective,” the vivo spokesperson added.
Helping this is the vivo service centre network, directly operated by the brand. Channana says this means the service centre is not a profit centre and focuses on providing the best experience for the customer with free checkups. “So the mindset is on consumer experience, it is not on maximising profit… that has helped us. This is a huge factor which people kind of ignore, and it is the total experience of ownership that is very important, and that is what we have been able to drive and we are very proud of it.”
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