Ajay Sharma
फ़ीचर फ़ोन का भविष्य!
Feature phones are not dead. The future of feature phones looks bright, and they are here to stay.
Hi, I'm Ajay!
... and here's a little about me.
Smartphone industry veteran with over 11 years of proven track record in launching 4 brands. Instrumental in launching HTC as a brand in India and Micromax (A leading Indian handset brand) in the smartphones' category.
With over 38 years of cross-industry experience, a professional with a great understanding of the domestic and international business operations with excellent channel and media connections.
THE BIOSCOPE
Into the world of handsets' industry and more...
These are my personal views only!
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Ajay Sharma
- Jul 3
- 3 min
The Future Of Feature (phones)!
Feature phones are not dead. The future of feature phones looks bright, and they are here to stay.
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Ajay Sharma
- May 23, 2021
- 5 min
Mainline DistributionSHIP - Heading Towards An Iceberg?
This blog is not about brands, market shares or even projections. This blog is about the future of the traditional mainline distributors of smartphones in India. I do foresee tough times for them in the future. Some of you may find my views too strong, but this is what I feel personally based on information I have collected from different sources. There are a lot of happenings which got me thinking on the future of this community. Examples: 1. An article which said that Udaan
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Ajay Sharma
- Dec 23, 2020
- 5 min
Indian smartphones market gets ready to hit the 200 million mark in 2021!
Indian smartphones market gets ready to hit the 200 million mark in 2021! The big question - Will the Chinese occupy only 50% of it?
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Ajay Sharma
- Sep 10, 2020
- 4 min
To B(reath)e Or Not To Be?
The smartphone industry bears the brunt of prolonged COVID. Assert or defend, the confusion prevails.
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Ajay Sharma
- Jul 16, 2020
- 3 min
Brand Sensex: Gainers And Losers
Let's have a look at the brands that are predicted to gain and the brands that are expected to lose due to the India China border issue.
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Ajay Sharma
- Jun 22, 2020
- 6 min
It’s A Game Of Snakes And Ladders. Will The Brands Once Ruling, See Themselves Sliding Down?
There may be a re-shuffle in the brands' market shares. My views on who'll lose and who'll gain!
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Ajay Sharma
- Dec 9, 2019
- 6 min
Twenty Two Days For Twenty Twenty!
As 2019 draws to a close, all eyes will be on what 2020 will offer! To recap, 2019 was a year: 1. With the least growth since 2016. From 14% in 2017-18 to a 7-9% this year. (As per IDC) 2. When the BBK group moved full steam ahead with the “New kid on the block” #Realme coming up as a challenger brand. 3. When #Samsung saw it's market share declining and coming sub 20% for the first time. 4. That witnessed an increased share of online with the offline reacting to it sharp
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Ajay Sharma
- Jan 1, 2019
- 10 min
Adios 2018, Hola 2019!
Last year’s darkness derails. A steady growth carriage carries bouquets of positives in tonnes. 2018 has ended and it’s time for the “Pundits and Gurus” to make predictions. I am none so you’ll have to give me some benefit of doubt here on my predictions. When it comes to smartphones trends, I have drawn a lot from: a. China as a market for its eco system and success of its brands globally. Smartphone business moves around R&D and supply chain, and China is strong in both. W
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Ajay Sharma
- Dec 24, 2018
- 7 min
Can Santa Claus Be The Guardian Angel?
2018 has been a pretty eventful year for the smartphone industry. Let me recapitulate some of the interesting ones, and hope 2019 brings in potluck of fortune. Market Size The smartphone market should touch approx. 145 million devices this year. This implies – a less than 10% growth. While Q3 was a great quarter, Q4 is looking below average. One could say that for a growing market like India, the growth is not that great. But, in the light of the entry of #Jio “Fusion Phones”
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Ajay Sharma
- Dec 17, 2018
- 6 min
Straight From The Oven
My take on the three of the latest hottest news from the world of smartphone market. Let’s start with today’s FIRST hot news which featured in ‘The Economic Times/ETRetail’. “Centre revives plan to check e-tailers’ discounts, freebies: i. A draft e-commerce policy had proposed a sunset clause defining the maximum duration for differential pricing strategies such as :deep discounts” ii. A growing view in the government is that e-commerce giants, like Amazon and Alibaba, have d
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Ajay Sharma
- Dec 3, 2018
- 6 min
Project Rejuvenation: Reviving Indian Smartphone Market
November ends. The woes of the mobile industry do not. Murphy’s law says: “If things can go wrong, they will go wrong!” and this is exactly what has been happening in the Indian mobile industry since October. 1. Online – The Challenger!
Online channel, being on the attack mode, is severely affecting offline channel partners specially the Brick and Mortar stores. I have been called, bombarded with WhatsApp/LinkedIn and text messages from channel partners on their anxiety and
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Ajay Sharma
- Nov 27, 2018
- 6 min
Comio exits India. More to follow?
My insights on how to hedge risks in this volatile Indian smartphone market. Got this news yesterday of #Comio abruptly closing its operations in India with the Chinese brand owners allegedly absconding, leaving the Indian team and partners high and dry. (This news now also stands confirmed in one of the posts by Sanjay Kalirona in a Whatsapp group). A very sad thing to have happened, as it will affect thousands of people attached to the brand directly or indirectly. The dama
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Ajay Sharma
- Nov 19, 2018
- 6 min
Samsung : The Lone Warrior
I have been following #Samsung as a smartphone brand since 2011. While they always had, and still have feature phones, I will be focusing on the smartphone category for this article. The last 7 years have been tumultuous for the #IndianMobile industry, specially smartphones with #Nokia exiting (the Microsoft operating system was not able to stand up to the #Android OS). They are now trying to make a come back with their strategic tie-up with #HMDGlobal with their devices runn
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