New Chinese phone maker, Konka targets 5% market share in Nigeria

NEW entrant into Nigeria’s bourgeoning telephone market, China’s smartphone maker—Konka, has revealed strategies that would possibly earn it, five per cent market share in the country by the end of 2016.

The strategy, according to Konka, China’s first Sino-foreign joint consumer electronics enterprise, would be specifically hinged on the sales of quality and affordable smartphones and block every avenue that may give room for the sales of substandard products in Nigeria.

Besides, the firm said to ensure even and rapid distribution of its products in Nigeria, it has partnered with Mansales Nigeria Limited.

Speaking at the media launch of the phones in Lagos, Chairman of Mansales Nigeria Limited, Elens Eigbokham, said the launch of Konka mobile phones in Nigeria, would give Nigerians the true customer experience on quality products from the firm, which is also going to be affordable.

Presenting a demo on the features of Konka smartphones, the Sales Manager, Konka Telecoms of China, Evangelous Hsieh, said: “The phones come with gorilla tempered glass, which makes it difficult for customers to experience broken screen, even when the phone drops from a height or when heavy objects suddenly drop on it. It has three magnet speakers with 8mp front camera that can take sharp photos from between 72 to 88 degrees angle view and it supports dual SIM cards and SD cards.”

According to him, the smartphones come very sleek and light, because it is made of very light stainless steel plates. “Its long time standby 4000mAh battery, allows users to experience a long battery life of the smartphone for up to three days, when fully charged. It is an android based phone that runs on Android 5.1 operating system and is compatible with 2G, 3G and 3.75G networks, with a central processing unit (CPU) of 1.3GHz Quad-core processor that allows for high-speed downloads and connectivity,” Hsieh said.

Hsieh, who said the family hoped to have earned about five per cent market share by the end of 2016 in Nigeria, further explained that the phones come with Bluetooth 4.0, FM, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) and the Global Positioning System (GPS), with Read Only Memory (ROM) of 8GB + SD8GB exposure of up to 32GB, including Random Access Memory (RAM) of 1GB.

Speaking on its support service centres that are already established in the country, the Managing Director, Mansales Nigeria Limited, Francis Osara, said Konka has already established a state-of-art service centre in Ikeja, Lagos, with plans to extend it to other parts of Lagos and outside Lagos.

He said the service centres would employ Nigerians with technology skills and further train them on how to service Konka phones, insisting that services at the centres will be fast to the delight and satisfaction of customers. Osara said the mobile phones come with one-year warranty and that Konka service centres take responsibility of the financial burdens for the repairs of mobile phones that may have factory defect.

According to Hsieh, Konka would need some time to study the Nigerian market, before taking any decision about establishing a manufacturing plant in Nigeria.