With the new partnership, Gionee is now present at 45000 retail outlets, 45,000 retail points, 2300 shop in shops, 5500 retail success partners and 22 brand shops. The company stressed on its strategy to develop an efficient offline distribution panel, rather than competing in the online flash sale rat race. On the occasion, Arvind R Vohra, Country CEO and MD, Gionee India, stated “We stayed away from flash sales because you ask someone to queue up and still cannot assure him a product,” Gionee aims at delivering stellar user experience with all its smartphone, irrespective of the price. Rather than just luring in customers with a low price, it is important to establish after sales services and brand value, which comes at an added cost. According to the company, there is no point competing in the low end market at razor thin margins and in turn compromising on ASS and other value additions, as this won’t pay in the long run. Going deeper on the subject in an interview to Business Standard , Arvind substantiates his aversion to “Flash sales” as follows: I don’t believe in flash sales. We chose not to be on online channels till they respect our company pricing. Online players are only playing on price and trying to lure customers. There is no value addition. I am not opposed to the online channel but I am opposed to a situation where a company’s price is not respected, especially in a marketplace model. We would like to expand our online footprint with other players in the course of time. Our focus is on good hardware, design and consumer experience. Pricing is also a part of consumer experience.
