Meizu isn’t the first, and they definitely won’t be the last, to expand their company into India. While China is currently the largest mobile market, and there are so many players over there, it has become the most competitive market. India is quickly rising and could dethrone China for the biggest mobile market. Companies like Meizu have recognized that and are rapidly expanding in India. However, the Indian market is a bit different, but not entirely different from the Chinese market. India likes the really cheap smartphones, the ones around Rs. 10,000, which is around $150 USD. This is why smartphones like the Meizu M2 Note and even the Xiaomi Mi 4i have sold so well over in India, because they are priced right at that price. However in China, Meizu can sell a phone like the MX5 or the new Pro 5 for twice the price and still sell plenty of them (in August, Meizu sold 2.89 million smartphones. Albeit more than one model).
Here on the western side of the world, we don’t pay to much attention to what’s going on in Asia, on the mobile side of things. We just care about the big manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola, LG, and HTC. We also think that the US is the most important market, but in all honesty it really isn’t. If a company wants to sell a ton of smartphones and gain more market share they need to focus on India and China. That’s about two-thirds of the world’s population right there in those two countries.
Motorola recently expanded into India, with the original Moto G back in 2013, and by 2014, they became the number one manufacturer in India. We’re not even kidding. Motorola saw it coming, and now others are starting to follow. For a “young” company such as Meizu, it’s important to expand, but not expand too quickly. I say a “young” company because they have been around for quite a while, over a decade, but only recently started to expand their smartphone portfolio past just one device. Up until last September, they only released the MX series, as of now we have the M series, MX, and Pro series available, all hitting different price points. Because Meizu’s manufacturing is all done in China, they have a tight relationship with their customers as well as their factory. Making it easier to sell their phones at a very cheap price. Heck the Pro 5, which is their most expensive phone, is only going for around $450 USD, when converted. Moving to India, they needed to open up an office as well as a factory. Which they are working with Foxconn to start manufacturing their products in India, which is important as it will allow Meizu to save money on importing these devices to India and can sell them cheaper to the Indian market.
We don’t hear too much about India, in terms of mobile markets. But you’d better watch out. It’s growing pretty quickly, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it become the number one mobile market in the next year or so.