2011: A mobile year

Dec-26th-2011
KATHMANDU: Among the ‘must-have’ gadgets this year, mobiles definitely come out at the top — because they are now considered essential necessities. The Nepali mobile market was upbeat too, with renowned brands such as Nokia, Samsung, BlackBerry, Spice, Karbonn and ZTE bringing in latest models in 2011. With the year drawing to a close, it is time to review how top brands fared among Nepali consumers.

It was a good year for Neoteric (Nepal) Pvt Ltd, authorised dealer of Nokia for Nepal. The brand has approximately 150 models in the Nepali market till date and proclaims itself to be the leader. Area Sales Manager of the company, Ashwin Kafle says, “It was a successful year for us, as we launched 28 new models in the Nepali market and also included new portfolio of Dual SIM.” According to him, their total market share in Nepal is above 45 per cent and they reportedly sold 545,000 sets in 2011.

Likewise, Samsung also claims to be one of the major players in mobile phones. Dikesh Malhotra, executive director of International Marketing Services Pvt Ltd, authorised dealer of Samsung mobile for Nepal, says, “Samsung mobile users are at the forefront

and this year, our sales amounted to 240,000 units. The total commercial market share of Samsung mobile is 33 per cent. Quantity wise, it occupies 24 per cent of the sales.” The company claims that Samsung is currently number one in the smartphone arena. This year, approximately 60 models of Samsung mobile were launched worldwide, while the Nepali market had 25 such launches. There are altogether 200 models of Samsung mobiles in the domestic market — out of which Samsung Champ C3303, priced at Rs 6,590, sold the most during the year.

Another exciting happening of 2011 was the official appointment of TeleTalk Pvt Ltd as the authorised dealer of BlackBerry mobile phones. After this, Nepali consumers could lay their hands on the latest BlackBerry launches — BlackBerry Curve 8520 and 9300, Torch 9800 and 9860, Bold 9780 and 9900 — with relative ease.

According to Geeta Neupane, marketing manager of the company, BlackBerry is targeted at the corporate and executive group, though it got tremendous response from young entrepreneurs and students too. BlackBerry mobiles reportedly occupy one per cent of the total market share. Its highest selling model this year was BlackBerry Bold 9900, available at Rs 62,950.

TeleTalk, which is also the authorised distributor of Spice mobiles, considered it a satisfactory year for this brand as well. Neupane informs, “Spice mobile is popular among lower and middle end consumers, as it offers all multi-media features at affordable prices. This year, Spice c5060, priced at Rs 3,650, sold the most. Users in remote regions such as Humla and Jumla were attracted towards it because of its network reliability.” Spice has around 60 models in the domestic market, with 18 new models being launched in 2011 alone.

According to Neupane, the mobile market suffered a bit in 2011 due to the economic downturn. The company claims that Spice mobiles occupy 13 per cent of the market share.

Meanwhile, Murarka Organisation, under which Pashupati Trade Links is the authorised dealer of Karbonn mobiles and PK Traders of ZTE mobiles for Nepal, also reports a reasonable year in sales. Bhupal Chettri, sales manager of both the companies, says, “Karbonn mobile is the leading Indian brand in the Nepali market, and most of our users belong to the middle and low income groups.” According to him, Karbonn mobiles hold around 10 per cent market share. The company has already launched 50 models, among which 25 models were launched in 2011 — and 15 are currently available in the domestic market. According to reports, the brand’s highest selling models this year were Karbonn K202 and Karbonn K9 — priced at Rs 2,910 and Rs 3,564 respectively. Similarly, ZTE mobile, occupying around five per cent of the market share, also considers 2011 an acceptable year. As per Chettri, five models of ZTE mobiles were launched this year, out of which ZTE- S309, priced at Rs 1,790, sold like hot cakes.