National Goes Mobile Celkon, Seeks Rs 1,000 Cr Turnover

City-based Celkon, which sold 10 lakh units of mobile phones in 2010, on Monday launched a mobile phone at the national level. The company now aims Rs 1000 crore turnover, against Rs 150 crore it did in 2010. It also plans to increase sales of 50 lakh handsets this year from 10 lakh units last year.

"From today, prices, our devices Celkon available for sale in north Indian states of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. Our brand will be deployed in markets in eastern and western parts of India in the first week in July, "Y Guruswamy Naidu, Managing Director, Celkon Mobile, said at a news conference here after the national launch.

Naidu said. "In the category of dual SIM, the company is in sixth place in the country in terms of sales We strive for third place in the category at the end of 2011," he said. The company began operations in 2010 and enjoyed considerable success during the first year of its existence,

Mr. Naidu said Celkon is planning to set up assembly plant in southern India. "We are willing to establish a plan for the state of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Plant with a capacity of 3 lakh units per month, requires investment in RS 100 crore and will be completed within eight months, when we apply a place" he said. Investments in the factory must be through internal accruals and bank loans.

The company also announced plans to trial mobile phone manufacturers in the premium segment. "We will launch the Android-based handset A1, two or three days, marking our experience in the premium segment. This model is priced at less than Rs 6000 We also plan to launch a digital tablet a few months. Unlike other tablets for the high market price of Rs 25000, our tablet costs less than Rs 10000, "Murali retinene President of the company said. Celkon, which currently offers 20 varieties of phones, will also launch another new model C555 soon.

Celkon phones, has 300 service centers now expand its service network. "We will also strengthen our research and development (R & D) center in Hyderabad to bring more innovations and features of our products," said Murali.