Gionee is seeking approval for opening single-brand stores in India

Gionee, the Chinese phone maker that had a good run in India on its launch, is now planning to seek approval for a single-brand retail licence after the rules have been eased.

"It is in process," Arvind Vohra, Gionee India CEO, told ET. He also added that the application will soon be filed with the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP).

In November last year, India had scrapped a 30% local sourcing condition which was there for overseas companies that were seeking to invest more than 51% equity in the single-brand retail segment. This move also allowed single-brand licence holders to sell products online via their own platforms.

Presently, Gionee products are sold in India through multibrand stores and 30 franchises that are backed by Gionee.

The company also plans to increase the number of franchisee outlets to 100 by March this year and 250 by the year end, other than having plans to open 200 exclusive service centres in India.

As per Vohra, the company would continue with its plans to sell online, but a brick and mortar presence was also needed as per the requirement of brand building.

"Fundamentally, I believe that first we have to create our brand by focusing on offline rather than online," Vohra said. " "Online is purely on (discounted) prices with no marketing, branding and loyalty."

He also stated that India was a key market along with the home Chinese market and Africa, and that the company may open some flagship franchisee stores in the top 100 malls in India.

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