Company to invest $20 million in the first year of its operations.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Obi Mobiles, a mobile device company backed by former Apple CEO John Sculley, is launching operations in India, in order to take advantage of the growing market for mobile devices on the subcontinent.
In an announcement on Thursday, Obi Mobiles declared that it will invest $20 million in India during its first year in the country, to develop supply chains, design outlets, and sales centers around the country. Its operations will be headquartered in Gurgaon, and the company will partner up with global IT supply firm Inflexionpoint to assist with its expansion in India.
“The Indian economy is seeing a radical shift since the last decade; the emergence of the knowledge economy has created a large services sector,” said Sculley, who co-founded the company, in a statement. “I see a huge opportunity in fulfilling the requirements of growing and prospering middle class.”
Sculley went on to say that India leads the world in “mobile phone penetration,” but the lack of 3G implementation has left a large share of the smartphone marketplace untapped. Currently smartphones only account for about 20% of the mobile phone market in India. He described the current situation in India as “a favorable and attractive change for us to launch Obi Mobiles and offer the best of the smartphone with an apt pricing model.”
CEO Ajay Sharma, who was present alongside Sculley at the launch event in New Delhi on Thursday, will head Obi’s operations in India. Sharma echoed the sentiments of Sculley, saying “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.”
According to Obi Mobile’s press release, smartphone sales in India are expected to his 30 million per quarter from this point onwards. Obi plans to connect 500 million phone users throughout India via the Internet, bringing mobile web use to the masses. The company said that it has designed its phones specifically for Indian consumers, and plans to debut these devices next month.
Sculley is best known for his time with Apple, and was also the CEO of PepsiCo for a period of time. A renowned IT entrepreneur, he has been honored with titles such as “Marketing CEO of the Decade” by several industry groups, according to Obi Mobiles.
Sharma was previously with mobile phone manufacturer HTC, and spent some time with Micromax. He has accrued over 30 years of professional experience in “marketing, sales and operations in telecom, automobile and export sector.”