Samart i-Mobile pursues more handset sales abroad
Samart i-Mobile expects strong sales of at least a million of its i-Mobile phones abroad this year to offset declining sales in the domestic market.
"We have shifted to focus more on international markets, including the Middle East, Africa and Asean," Watchai Vilailuck, chief executive officer of parent company Samart, said yesterday.
The slowing local economy and drought have hit the local handset market this year, he said.
Samart i-Mobile targets 20 per cent of its total sales coming from overseas, up from 15 per cent last year. International markets include Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Iraq, Tanzania, Libya, Egypt and Kenya.
The company had projected total sales of 4 million i-Mobile handsets this year before revising the forecast to between 3 million and 3.5 million units after achieving sales of only 1.5 million units in the first half.
The i-Mobile handsets are attractive to its foreign markets since they feature digital TV.
Recently Samart i-Mobile launched a Bt100-million rebranding campaign to reach Bt12 billion in revenue this year, Watchai said.
