Sony has officially decided to switch up its tactics in India by pouring its energy into the premium smartphone sector in the country. The Japanese brand has had a tough go of it internationally, with falling sales and profits being reported in the face of more popular rivals across the world.
According to the Times of India, Sony is looking to sharpen its focus on select products and sales channels as part of a transformation which has been going on since FY15. Thanks to this shift in marketing strategy, the handset maker is going to concentrate on selling premium Xperia devices.
Sony India’s head of Xperia business Vijay Singh Jaswal states that the company is planning to launch flagship products for its customers in the nation which it thinks will further enhance its presence in the market. The manufacturer is all set to take advantage of the upcoming festive season to vend its phones under special offers.
In spite of its less-than-stellar sales worldwide, Sony claims that its premium strategy in India has resulted in the average selling price rising by 55% in Q1 of FY16 as compared against the same period of time last year. However a previous report which came out earlier this year alleged that the company’s growth in Brazil, China, Indonesia and India slowed down to a dismal 0.3% only.
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The same report had suggested that Sony was planning to defocus on countries like India and sell only premium handsets for better profits. This could mean the end of affordable series such as the Xperia M or E making their way to the country going forward.