Lenovo Group is looking to manufacture smart wearables in India and increase its share of the local market by three-fold, Reuters reported.
China-based devices company is aiming to grab 20 percent share in India’s wearables — such as smartwatches and fitness bands – market by this year.
Since Lenovo started selling its wearables in India last year, the company has achieved 6-7 percent of the market share of smart wearables in the country.
The company is now planning to start manufacturing in India, where the smart wearables market is expected to grow 30-40 percent this year. Lenovo currently makes its wearable products in China.
“We have started talks with local manufacturers to start manufacturing within the country. We’re trying to start these operations some time this year,” said Sebastian Peng, head of accessories at Lenovo Mobile Business Group.
Lenovo has already partnered with homegrown e-commerce firm Flipkart to sell wearables on its platform, said Naveen Bajaj, India head at Shenzhen Aodishi Technology, which is Lenovo’s authorized overseas accessories distributor.
Lenovo, which also makes products ranging from smartphones to laptops, will expand its wearable offerings on other e-commerce portals, such as Amazon.com.
The company will push to establish a physical retail network as well, starting with major Indian cities.
India’s wearables market was worth $157 million in 2017, according to International Data Corporation. Other wearable sellers in the country include Xiaomi Technology, Huawei and Fitbit.
Once local manufacturing kicks off, Lenovo would consider India as an export hub for wearables.
Lenovo already sells its HW02 fitness band and HX03W cardio smartband in India through its retail outlets and e-commerce platforms.
