In an interview with tele.net.in, Ajjay Agarwal, Chairman and Managing Director, MAXX Mobiles outlines the company’s strategy in the Indian handset market and highlights MAXX Mobiles’ future plans. Excerpts…

Describe the MAXX Group?s journey in India so far.

The MAXX Group is India?s largest manufacturer of mobile accessories as well as a provider of new-age mobile phones and accessories, serving a strong network of customers across India. The company was founded in 2004 with the establishing of Maxx Mobile Communications Limited (MMCL).

We have manufacturing units in India with an annual production capacity of 80 million batteries and 40 million chargers. We are also following a strategy of backward integration and are in the process of setting-up of two more plants in Haridwar, one each dedicated to the manufacturing of Lithium-Ion battery cells and mobile phones with a proposed investment of Rs 3.20 billion.

MAXX Moblink Private Limited (MMPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the MAXX Group, is involved in the marketing and distribution of mobile phones under the brand name of MAXX. MAXX Mobiles has developed a wide distribution network of more than 35,000 retailers across India supported by 557 after sales service centers.

We have big plans for our mobile handset business. In fact, it is our vision to become a truly Indian handset brand, complete with our indigenous plant for the manufacture of mobile phones.

What are the company?s overseas expansion plans?

We recently expanded our overseas presence with our foray into the Bangladeshi market. We believe that the market in Bangladesh is as dynamic as the market in India with a clear demand for good quality contemporary handsets at reasonable prices.

We have initially entered these markets with the launch of 12 models customised to suit the needs of the Bangladeshi user. For instance, we have designed the MAXX PANDA MX184, an affordable feature rich bar phone with a Bangla keypad.

To help users have noise-free conversations, we have also launched a unique noise suppression feature phone, the MX401. For women who consider the phone a style statement, the MAXX VISTA MS502, a feature-rich slider phone that sports a stylish exterior. For touch phone enthusiasts, the MAXX SCOPE MT150 and MT250 enables a great touch phone experience at a value for money price.

We already operate in Dubai, Fiji and Nepal and we will continue looking for opportunities in global markets to extend our value for money proposition.

What is the company?s product and distribution strategy in India?

The Indian consumer durable industry is a fiercely competitive one, with Indian handset players gaining prominence over the last couple of years. In order to increase mind-share and market-share, it is critical that MAXX Mobiles recognises the needs of the Indian consumer.

MAXX Mobiles has a diverse portfolio of handsets to suit the requirements of the consumers ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000.

We recently introduced two handsets as a part of the revolutionary Khamoshhh? series – a bar phone, the MAXX MX401 and a QWERTY handset, the MAXX MQ601.

As we are continuously tracking market trends, we have seen that touchscreen phones are becoming prominent in the market.

So, we launched the MAXX SCOPE MT150, a touchscreen phone packed with multimedia and social networking features. On the same lines, we also launched MAXX SOUL MS727 ? a slider touchscreen handset that fulfills the dual requirement of a touchscreen as well as a keypad.

What is the biggest challenge before the company?

The mobile handset industry has proved to be very dynamic ? with the technology advancing at a rapid pace. It is essential for us to be abreast of the latest trends in the market as well as react quickly to evolving consumer demand. At the same time, it is also important to ensure that we maintain quality while keeping costs under control. The balance between meeting consumer preferences and maintaining quality while remaining price competitive is one of the biggest challenges for Indian handset players.

However, expanding our local manufacturing base in Haridwar to include the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries and even mobile handsets will help us address these concerns.

In addition to this, as a provider of mobile handsets, it is imperative for us to ensure that the features that our consumers demand are made available to them. At MAXX, we have tried to overcome this by instituting an indigenous product development, whose only vision is continuous innovation at lower costs!

What is the company’s strategy vis-a-vis competition?

Identifying and fulfilling the myriad requirements of the users, we aim to provide a true value for money solution. For example, we launched the MAXX GLO MX388 which is an ideal phone for gaming enthusiasts. Additionally, built in with a big speaker on the back, we also launched the MAXX JAZZ MX349 to wow music enthusiasts across India. We have also introduced our Big Battery series, especially designed to meet the need for sustained battery life by mobile phone users in smaller towns and villages as well as the demand for higher talktime by the youth segment.

The high demand in India for low-cost mobile phones and the fast rate of technology evolution drives us to keep innovating at lower costs. We have our indigenous product development team that is dedicated to providing consumers with latest technologies and innovative features packaged in attractive designs. At the same time, we have built a robust supply chain that helps us to better serve consumers across India.

Additionally, we are planning to expand our robust manufacturing set-up to include plants for the local production of handsets and lithium-ion batteries. We are investing heavily to ramp up the manufacturing set-up, which will give us an edge over our competitors as we will be able to react faster and better customise our products to Indian tastes.

MAXX Mobiles therefore becomes the only handset brand in India with vast manufacturing set-up.