Chinese smartphone maker Vivo plans to open 10 large test stores in the country by 2024 to expand its offline services and attract customers, the company announced on Thursday.
The announcement follows the opening of Vivo's largest brand store in the world spanning 7,000 square meters. Legs covering three floors in Ahmedabad. With this new store, the smartphone brand now has four flagship stores in cities like Bangalore and Coimbatore. In the new flagship stores, Vivo's product portfolio will be presented in different categories, allowing consumers to browse the products. Additionally, the stores will have service centers and gaming zones where users can play different modes on their devices.
The company offers monthly workshops on topics such as smartphone photography.
"With the consumer as our primary focus, we want to provide our consumers with a superior interactive experience in our unique stores. Our modern, experiential flagship stores are designed to enable consumers to interact with products in a meaningful way and provide an integrated and seamless product experience under one roof," Corporate said. Getchaj Chanana, Head, Strategy at Vivo India.
"As part of our long-term commitment to provide a complete shopping experience to our customers, we plan to open more pilot stores in other Tier 1 cities," added Chanana. The company currently has a network of 650 specialty stores.
Recently, brands like Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi and others have focused on expanding their presence offline, which is a crucial factor for mainstream companies. Analysts say that before buying premium smartphones, the consumer wants to feel and experience the product and this requires an offline presence. Industry estimates put 45% of smartphone sales in India online, and here's where the brick-and-mortar segment has the opportunity to capitalize.
According to data from Counterpoint and Canalys, vivo had the second largest market share in the country at 17% at the end of June. Samsung continued to dominate for the third consecutive quarter with 18 percent market share. According to IDC, vivo topped Samsung with 16 percent market share.
"Vivo holds the second position in the overall market and was the only brand in the top 5 to post year-on-year growth. This growth was driven by strong offline presence, growth of online sub-brand iQOO and multiple launches at various price points," said Counterpoint Research Analyst Shabham Singh. . According to Canalys, the smartphone brand shipped 6.4 million handsets in the April-June quarter, up 7 percent year-on-year.
