New Delhi - Obi Mobiles today announced the launch of its operations in the Indian mobile handset market, in the presence of globally renowned marketing veteran John Sculley. Headquartered in Gurgaon, and promoted by Inflexionpoint, a globally focused IT supply chain company co-founded by John Sculley, Ex CEO of Apple Inc., Obi Mobiles will be led by Ajay Sharma as CEO. Ajay comes with an experience of over 30 years and a strong legacy of association with Micromax and HTC as their smartphone division head
Currently, Obi Mobiles has been exclusively launched in India, and it plans to invest $20 million this year to set up the supply chain, design centre and sales/aftersales in the key centres across India. With this plan, the company aims to expand the horizon of technology in the mid-range smartphone ecosystem by introducing affordable smartphones with superior technology. Post establishing its foundation in India, the company will spread its handset brand and business to growing markets in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin America.
On the occasion of the launch John Sculley stated that “The Indian economy is seeing a radical shift since the last decade; the emergence of the knowledge economy has created a large services sector. I see a huge opportunity in fulfilling the requirements of growing and prospering middle class. India leads in mobile phone penetration. However owing to the delay in implementation of 3G services and high smartphone prices, the smartphone share in India is only 20%, leaving larger part of the ground with opportunities yet to be tapped. The scenario hence becomes a favourable and attractive chance for us to launch Obi Mobiles and offer the best of the smartphone with an apt pricing model.”
Mr. Ajay Sharma, CEO, Obi Mobiles, expressed that “India’s smartphone market still has many opportunities to offer in terms of mobile features and value added services. Obi Mobiles will be catering to the needs of young Indians who want to own a mobile phone with latest technology, features and are also seeking value for money. These are also the major factors why young Indians replace their handsets quite frequently.” He also added that “We feel that it is a good time to enter this space considering the advent of 3G and 4G services, increasing affordable mobile internet plans, rising popularity of internet based communications and social media platforms coupled with availability of local content. Additionally, with access to branding and marketing guidance from John Sculley and a well experienced team that we have built, we look forward to reaping the benefits of the intense smartphone demand in India.”
It is expected that about 30 million smartphones will be sold in India every quarter going forward. Tapping this scenario, Obi Mobiles aims to connect next 500 million phone users (of the total 700 million mobile users) to Internet through smartphones in India. The company plans to offer unparalleled user experience through unique services like data management ability to optimize data costs, best in class user interface features and intriguing apps. Designed for India, under extensive technical and consumer testing the mobile handsets by Obi Mobiles are expected to hit the Indian markets by early May 2014.
Obi Mobiles will be optimizing the robust foundation of Inflexionpoint, including the cutting edge technology of its subsidiaries Dragon Technology that has in house design and testing capabilities; and Iris Computers that will provide the countrywide distribution network.
The Obi Team
John Sculley: Renowned marketing professional and technology entrepreneur. John is Co-Founder and Managing partner at Inflexionpoint and in the past he was associated with Apple Inc and Pepsico as CEO. John was also honoured with “Marketing CEO of the Decade” and “CEO of the Year” awards.
Ajay Sharma: Has over three thirty years of experience in field of marketing, sales and operations in telecom, automobile and export sector. Ajay was associated as head of smartphone division in India with brands like Micromax and HTC.
Neeraj Chauhan: CEO of Inflexionpoint, Singapore. Neeraj is leading the IT and Telecom supply chain aggregation at Inflexionpoint. He has expertise in conceptualising and executing business expansion strategies on global scale and has managed large distribution operations in previous roles.
About Obi Mobiles
Obi Mobiles which aims to be India’s most rapidly evolving smartphone company is promoted by Inflexionpoint, a globally focused IT supply chain company co-founded by John Sculley (former Apple CEO); Shane Maine (London based structured finance strategist); Gordon McMillan (Toronto-based financial services entrepreneur); and, Neeraj Chauhan (experienced global distribution entrepreneur). The company is head quartered in Gurgaon, India and was launched in April 2014.Obi Mobiles offers best in class smart devices aimed at youth in global markets.
