realme CEO Sky Li says firm eying 5 million smartphones sales this festive season

Since its inception in 2018, realme has climbed to the number three position in the smartphone industry in India. Continuing to register a healthy 51 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth, the brand enjoyed a 12.6 per cent market share in the March-June quarter of 2023. As the festive season accounts for 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales in India, realme has introduced offers worth Rs 800 crore on smartphones and AIoT products during the realme Festive Days sale this year. 

realme Founder and CEO Sky Li told Business Today, “Both in India and globally, festive seasons are important drivers for sales. Indians typically save to buy products during their favorite festive season and consequently tend to shop more during these periods compared to the rest of the year. It’s not surprising therefore that all of us at realme take the festive season very seriously and ensure that this is when shoppers buy our best and latest products. This festive season, we are providing our consumers with offers worth Rs 800 crore on smartphones and AIoT products during the realme Festive Days sale.” 

While the company will be unveiling the offers in the coming days, it has introduced realme’s VIP membership program, under which members will receive an upgrade, exclusive discounts, rewarding point-based activities, early access to special offers, and more. 

realme is anticipating a surge this festive season, driven by enhanced inventory levels and an increased demand for affordable 5G smartphones. This coincides with a moderation in inflation, resulting in higher consumer spending. realme has unveiled new products in the run-up to the festive season including the C51, the narzo 60x, and the 11 series 5G among others. 

“This should reflect how optimistic and upbeat we are with regards to the festive season and the overall India market. This festive season itself we are targeting a sale of 5 million smartphones and are also expecting the share of our 5G devices to increase during this period,” adds Li. 

Wide network reach and affordability options have helped brands scale their share in the market. Li states that his team is working on making products accessible to everyone and for this, they have introduced various consumer-friendly initiatives such as EMI options and instant discounts. These initiatives aim to remove barriers and ensure that realme products are within reach of a wider audience. 

Present in both, offline and online, realme is focused on ramping its investments across both segments. Specific to online presence, realme is now strongly entrenched across both Flipkart & Amazon. And in offline, it is preset in nearly over 30,000 stores, and aims to elevate to 50,000 stores by 2023. 

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