Flipkart and Micromax partner to co-design mid-range smartphones

After grabbing the much-needed investment of $1.4 billion from Microsoft, Tencent, eBay, Flipkart has now partnered with Micromax to develop and market smartphones for the mid-range of Rs 6,000-12,000.

The smartphone lineup named 'Evok', is expected to be launched next week and it will be available exclusively on Flipkart.

Micromax is aiming to expand its brand into the online segment with the Evok series, which includes two smartphones – the Note and Power. On the other hand, Flipkart wants to sell more phones in tier 2 and tier 3 market.

The company is yet to provide details on the smartphones, but it is reportedly competing head-to-head with Xiaomi Redmi Note 4.

"It's a long-term agreement with Flipkart where we will be developing products jointly based on the insights and consumer understanding we get," Shubhajit Sen, Chief Marketing Officer at Micromax told Economic Times. "This is a way of design for India, which will take Micromax's online share up, while it will help Flipkart penetrate deeper into Tier II and Tier III markets, as both are targeting the value-conscious buyer."

The company is focusing on online as well as offline channels to bounce back as online contributes half of Micromax's sales in the Rs 6,000-12,000 price band.

Micromax is also aiming to regain its lost position among the top-5 smartphone brands, which it had lost to its Chinese rivals in the last few quarters. Recently, the company launched the low-range smartphone Bharat 2 for just Rs 3,499.