Lava's Sunil Raina shares growth mantra amid competition from foreign players

New Delhi: Domestic mobile phone maker Lava International on Friday said its focus on having a captive manufacturing unit and design facility along with steps to enhance customer experience has helped it grow business amid competition from foreign players.

Lava International, President and Business Head, Sunil Raina said that other players could not sustain their business due to their dependency on third parties for manufacturing and phone design when several players with low-priced handsets entered into India in 2017.

"We have been focussing on fundamentals of the mobile phone business since beginning with our own manufacturing facility and design facility. This gave control to making products with differentiation and as per needs of Indian customers. We continue to be very competitive due to our strength despite heavy competition from foreign players in the market," he said.

Raina was speaking on the sidelines of achieving a Guinness World Record for the largest mosaic made of smartphones in the shape of Indian Flag at a mall in Noida.

"We have removed bloatware (pre-installed apps) from the phone that send unnecessary notifications, consume memory and make the phone slow. While other companies continue to do so as it subsidizes their device cost. We recently launched a wide range of smartphones including Agni 2, Blaze 5G and Yuva 2 Pro and because of enhanced customer experience the response has also been good," Raina said.

Lava International has its manufacturing and repair facility in Noida. As of August 31, 2021, the manufacturing facility had an aggregate production capacity of 42.52 million feature phone equivalent handsets per annum.

According to Counterpoint Research, Lava recorded 53 per cent YoY growth during the June 2023 quarter.

"We have started providing doorstep service in low cost phones as well. In case of any fault in Agni 2, we have started offering replacement devices at home which foreign players are not doing. Our standing of local consumers with one of the strongest distribution networks is getting us growth," Raina said.