How Realme Became the 2nd Largest Smartphone Player in India

If A is the brother of B, B is the sister of C, and C is the father of D; how is D related to A? This is an example of blood relations logical reasoning – a common question in competitive exams.  

Now, let's take a real example. BBK Electronics is the parent company of Oppo and Vivo; Oppo's subsidiaries include OnePlus and Realme; iQOO is a Vivo subsidiary. So, what is the relation between Realme and BBK Electronics? 

What started as a sub-brand of Oppo was spun off as a separate brand in May, 2018. Within six months, Realme became an emerging brand in the Indian market. According to International Data Center (IDC), in Q2 2022, Realme claimed the second position in the Indian smartphone market as per shipment volumes for the second time in a row with a strong YoY growth of 24% (highest among the top-five vendors). 

“Realme has always been a user-oriented brand, building on its offerings as per the users’ requirements and demands. We launched the first 5G smartphone in 2020 and padX, recently and aim to continue working towards the needs of our consumers and meet their everyday requirements within the budget,” Madhav Sheth, Realme India CEO, told Analytics India Magazine.

The brand claims to have tied-up with over 30,000 retail stores, recently expanding its offline segment with the launch of a global flagship store in Ahmedabad. The company aims to enable more and more users to experience its offerings and reach. 

“As a brand we believe it is important for our users to have an experience of our products. Most of the consumers still believe in the touch-and-feel factor of the products and prefer to buy offline. However, given the diverse nature of the India market, we have had a strong relationship with our online partners at the same time. It will help us in maintaining an optimum balance between both the channels,” said Sheth.

Pushing technology to new heights

Smartphones are getting smarter each day and in-line with the rising buyer expectation in this highly competitive market, phone makers are trying to integrate newer, better technologies in their phones. 

Realme is working continuously to catch up on technology. The company claims that it is consistently investing in R&D and incorporating market-specific insights to create compelling products, in sync with customers’ requirements across regions. The brand has launched multiple products across categories with cutting-edge technology defined for the markets. “Over the past few months, we have expanded our AIoT portfolio and smart home products to create a smart, connected, and technologically advanced ecosystem,” said Sheth.  

Realme launched its TechLife Ecosystem, a technology product ecosystem and business collaboration network to realise the intelligent connection of all AIoT categories. 

Sheth added that Realme TechLife Ecosystem is a dual-trademark product matrix, centred on smartphones and extending to five key categories – TV, wearables, TWS, laptop and tablet. With 5G coming in, the use of AIoT will increase further. The brand has already launched 5G enabled tablets, and PAD X. 

Further, it plans to move to other categories such as home and kitchen automation. 

Vocal for local

The brand has been focused and places a great emphasis on making every experience and interaction more local. “As one of the 10-million shipment markets for Realme, India has established local teams and hired local personnel to fully utilise their skills. Now, we want to optimise the short-channel, light-asset business model in India and look into further strategic alliances with various e-commerce platforms. We will be making products that could provide a local and better end-to-end experience,” said Sheth.  

Revolution in the offing

There is a lot of excitement regarding 5G. The company is confident that it will significantly increase operational effectiveness and efficiency across the technology sector. Faster speed, higher bandwidth concentration, and improved security will prove revolutionary to bring the expected change.

It will also help usher in an era of smart homes and offices as well as connected transport which will transform the way people live, work, and travel. “At Realme, we have transitioned more than half of our portfolio to 5G and are currently working on increasing the production of 5G phones within the INR 10,000-15,000 segment,” said Sheth.