Madhav Sheth, CEO Realme India, said 100 percent of Realme smartphones are manufactured in India (Image: Realme)

Reiterating his company’s commitment towards the Make in India programme, Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth said they are working to manufacturer more and more products across categories locally. “We will manufacture TVs locally, with SMT assembly lines which are the most essential and core part in terms of TV manufacturing,” Seth told indianexpress.com, adding how 100 per cent of Realme smartphones are already manufactured in India. 

While the pandemic lockdown has delayed the plans, Sheth said Realme is committed “to bring more production and jobs into India” during the difficult time. Realme is also planning to invest a complete production line in India including a high-end SMT assembling line. “We will also keep bolstering our localisation strength. We already contributed more than 7500 direct jobs in our manufacturing plant in Greater Noida, and we are targeting to expand our workforce to over 10,000 by year-end,” Sheth said. 

Meanwhile, the company is also encouraging more suppliers and partners to open local factories in India and contribute more to the country’s economy. “This is also how we are adapting our commitment as ‘Realme for Every Indian’,” he added. 

The lockdown has been challenging for the company which is still facing the consequences of the supply chain disruption. Sheth said there is a pent up demand in the market now but as the supply chains are disrupted at the moment, it is tough to plug this. “It’s still early to comment that the hike in demand has helped recuperate the sales which we lost in the last two months. Due to disruption in the supply chain, it is challenging for us to meet the full demand in the market currently. But we have maintained a YOY growth 100% in Q1 and we are still expecting the same in upcoming quarters,” he said.

Realme launched 32-inch and 43-inch smart TV in India recently. (Image: Realme)

Realme recently launched two smart TVs in India and Sheth claims over 15,000 units have sold in just under 10 minutes during the first sale in India on June 2.  “It’s a milestone considering we are a new player in the TV industry and a recent entrant,” he said. The company is planning to introduce a 55-inch TV in the coming months, but does not have plans to develop a native OS for Realme TV.

Sheth has confirmed that Realme is planning to bring in high-end smartwatches and wireless headphones soon in India along with other accessories like in-car chargers, luggage cases, smart home gadgets etc.

Extending its Make in India commitment Realme will soon start manufacturing some of AIOT products in India and aim to increase local workforce strength to 15,000 by 2020. The company is also planning to boost the distribution channels in India, especially in Tier 4 and Tier 5 cities, to cover 35,000+ mobile stores. By the end of this year, Realme has plans to bring onboard 5000+ promoters and is also committed to investing in their training and other aspects like store branding and mass marketing.

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