“We want to be a brand of rural India,” Pradipto Ganguly, Britzo

In an exclusive conversation with PC Quest Pradipto Ganguly – CEO & Co-Founder – Britzo (iVVO Mobile Phone), talks about how the company plan to compete.

What is so special about smart feature phone? How is it different from a normal feature phone?

Through smart feature phones, our intent is to pass on the merits of the ongoing digital revolution right to the hands of the ‘Real India’. These new-era smart feature phones are powered with customized Operating Systems (OS) that give our customers access to relevant apps & entertainment offerings such as unlimited songs and videos. These devices also come bundled with a peace of mind and service promise of 201-day replacement warranty and 12+3 month product warranty.

iVVO feature phones are, moreover, a lot different from a conventional feature phone as they also include ‘Smart Store’, a first-of-its-kind smartphone-like app store, that has plenty of games and utility app targeted at the rural audience. Soon, we’re also launching various smart 4G feature phones especially meant for our rural and semi-urban audiences that will help them experience the larger-than-life 4G services at very affordable price points.

The company also launched its first 4G feature phone “Skipper” along with two Android Go 4G smartphones as part of their “Storm” series. Can you please throw some light on the same?

We have recently unveiled our first 4G-enabled smart feature phone, Skipper, which is powered by android applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube. The smart feature phone also offers Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Hotspot, and Bluetooth connectivity to its users. Apart from this, we are also about to launch two new smartphones under the product category Storm Pro & Storm Lite.

The handsets are on the latest Android Go Oreo 8.1 software and have been powered with in-demand specs such as face recognition, 8MP selfie camera with dual flash, and 8 MP rear camera with auto-focus as well as a one-time screen replacement guarantee within 365 days & a 455-day product warranty.

In the first year, Britzo is looking at revenues of INR 1,500 crore. Of this, INR 1,000 crore will be from the phone business. What is your business strategy for the Indian market?

We are targeting a 3% market share & a revenue of INR 1,000 crore by the end of FY2018-19. We actively pursue unconventional strategies to increase our business footprint in new and existing markets, offering our product and after-sales services to customers in, what for us are, largely untapped markets in India.

Our strategy is to be a brand of rural India. That means we have to maintain consistency across all of our rural touchpoints. Of course, there is always an element of local adaption because our first consumer is the weaker section of society. We may have different attitudes in different localities. This is what makes us a pan-India brand. Our clear goal now is to create a strong business presence of iVVO where only a few players are present.

How are you planning to compete with your competitors?

One of the primary factors that differentiate us from other players is the social cause associated with the brand BRITZO. Our planning is a mix of a unique thought, a unique product, a unique formula, and a unique brand. We plan to get in rural mobile markets all across the country now and acquaint the rural customer with an experiential digital lifestyle that smartphone users so often enjoy.

We intend to bring a complete reversal of the order by not only providing cost-effective mobile phones but also developing an array of cutting-edge technologies specifically for rural markets and then making these technologies trickle down to urban and semi-urban users. We are confident that we are going to bring an observable disruption in the market. However, we will also be more than happy if our competitors take a cue from our approach and start aggressively targeting this market segment while maintaining the same approach.

What is the purpose of launching a smart feature phone and smartphone brand “iVVO”, followed by the rollout of eight smart 2G feature phones segmented across five product categories?

With the launch of BRITZO, our overarching objective was to bring this rural mass online and deliver superlative smart mobile phone offerings to them. Our products are targeted at and designed keeping in mind the consumers in tier-III, tier-IV, and tier-V markets. Our complete focus is to drive digital enablement across the ‘REAL INDIA’ and offer an evolved and smart alternative with greater functionality when compared with feature phones.

Who all are your targeted audience?

We are focusing on tier 3/4/5 markets – the Real India. Our marketing plans are clearly rural centric encompassing customized Below the Line activities with a presence in rural haats, nukkad nataks, tapping localized modes of communications.

Our phones are made for Indian Masses –We envision enabling a convenient access to the customers across the socio-economic spectrum. Our seven 2G Smart Feature Phones have been launched under the product category of – BEATZ, PRIMO, SELFIE, TUFF & VOLT. The price range starts at a – Rs. 649 and would bring a smarter experience of Customized operating software – iVVO Smart Store – giving access to relevant apps & download of songs & videos, games along with inbuilt memory, powerful battery and a peace of mind with our strong service policies.

Our motto is to ensure a Peace of Mind for all associated with us.

The mission of the Company is ‘To provide a Mobile Device to Every Indian at a Quality which brings a smile to them’.

Authored By: Malavika Sacchdeva