LeEco today said it aims to expand its retail presence to 2,000 outlets across 65 cities and 6,000 – 8,000 retail shops by the end of this year.
LeEco has tied up with top retail phone chains like Sangeetha, Poorvika and zonal distributors such as Shivalik, AppsYouNeed, Pearl Infotech and PCH to expand its retail network across the country.
Expanding presence through retail chains is an important step for LeEco because the Chinese brand is not part of the top 4 smartphone makers in India in the second quarter of 2016 as per the list from market research firm Counterpoint Research.
Samsung, Micromax, Intex, Lava and Lenovo are the top five brands in the Indian smartphone market based on share.
LeEco will be selling Le 1S and Le 1S Eco phones through the offline model in the first phase. The Chinese phone maker plans to offer the entire product portfolio in the offline market in the coming months.
“Our strategy to strengthen our offline business is a testimony to our commitment to the Indian market,” said Atul Jain, COO of Smart Electronics, LeEco India.
LeEco claims that it is the third largest smartphone brand in India in the online space. LeEco is relying on e-commerce company Flipkart and its own ecommerce marketplace – LeMall for selling the devices via online.
The company has retail presence in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. LeEco plans to set up more service centers in addition to 555 outlets.