Lenovo is not keen on applying for single-brand retail licence and will rely on its franchisee network of more than 900 stores to sell its products in India, a top executive of the PC and smartphone maker told ET.
A licence for single-brand retail will allow the Chinese company to open its own stores in India.
“We have not applied to department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) to open company-owned stores. We have no such plans and we are doing nothing along these lines,” said Ashok Nair, the company’s director for home and small business. “Opening company-owned stores is simply against the strategy of the company.”
Nair said, “We have been a very strongly focused-channel partnering company. We have always depended on our partners to do this (retailing) and we will continue to do that.”
The government liberalised foreign direct investment rules on single-brand retail in November, which included relaxing mandatory local procurement condition for high-tech companies and allowing single-brand licence holders to sell their products directly online. Phone makers like Apple, Xiaomi and Gionee have shown interest in opening their own stores in the country.
Lenovo retail its products through about 4,000 stores, of which some 950 are Lenovo’s exclusive franchised outlets comprising large-format and small- or express-format stores. The company also has an ecommerce store but sales through it are yet to pick up.
(Source: Economic Times )