Nostalgic? Nokia, BlackBerry are re-entering the Indian market with investment of Rs 200 crore; will launch new phones

Nokia and BlackBerry are going to launch new smartphones next month with an aim to capture a significant share in the Indian market.

The phone makers will be raking in Rs 200 crore each in India to make a comeback in the mobilephone market and re-build their strategies.

While Nokia will launch upgraded version of its iconic feature phone 3310 by May-end, it is also likely to launch three smartphones. Whereas, BlackBerry brand licence owner in India, Optiemus Group, will launch one model at sub-Rs40,000 category in June and sub-Rs 20,000 category in July.

“The BlackBerry brand licence owner in India, Optiemus Group, will spend Rs200 crore to relaunch the brand and will initially target enterprise customers and selling through retail chains before expanding penetration in the market,” chairman Ashok Gupta told ET.

He said the company will launch BlackBerry through 4,000 retailers which includes the retail chains and even the premium neighbourhood stores. "We are expecting Rs2,000 crore sales in this fiscal,” he told ET.

Re-entering Indian market can be somewhat tough for both the brands as Chinese smartphone makers have made a significant presence in the market.

In a bid to win customers, Nokia will market its handsets on the durability factor which was associated with the brand and guaranteed software updates, BlackBerry will build the security buzz of smartphones.

A HMD spokesperson told ET that a significant portion of its $500 million marketing spend will be in India.