Flipkart announced a long-term strategic partnership with the Taiwanese technology giant to launch products specially designed for Indian consumers. Under this partnership, the first smartphone that would be launched exclusively on Flipkart is the Zenfone MaxPro on April 23, 2018.
With an aim to help Asus reach the right audience and penetrate deeper in the Indian market, Flipkart will become Asus’ premier partner and seller for smartphones, starting with models that have been specially designed to address Indian market needs.
A statement released by the companies highlights that the Flipkart will not only help in sales and marketing of Asus products, but the leading Indian e-commerce marketplace will be the primary sales channel for Asus ZenFones, and both the companies will collaborate for co-creating new Indian consumer-centric products.
On the marketing front, both companies will extensively support each other in the planning and execution of marketing activities for Asus ZenFones.
While unveiling the Flipkart-Asus partnership in New Delhi on Tuesday, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said, “Flipkart has driven the adoption of smartphones in India, and grown the market, through innovations and a deep sense of knowing what consumers want. With this partnership with Asus, we are multiplying those efforts to build smartphones truly customised for India.”
Asus’ comprehensive portfolio encompasses a wide range of categories, including IT devices and components, artificial intelligence (AR), virtual reality (VR), and Internet-of-Things (IoT). With its strong focus on innovation and quality, the company has won over 4,500 awards and claims to have generated revenues of $13 billion in 2017.
The first product to be launched under the tie-up is the Snapdragon 636 powered Asus Zenfone Max Pro, which will be up on Flipkart for sale on April 23, from 12.30 pm. This is said to be the global launch of the ZenFone Max Pro smartphone. However, price details, features and other specifications of the Max Pro handset have not been revealed yet.
“With Flipkart’s partnership, we aim to gain more insights about Indian consumers’ needs, which can help us develop even more suitable products for the Indian market. Flipkart’s unparalleled distribution reach and marketing strategies will help Asus build strong awareness for our innovative high-value products and reach consumers across India.”
To further embed itself as part of the Indian community, Asus also announced support for digitising India and aiding the digital education of the needy in Indian society through its CSR initiatives.
Asus and Flipkart had earlier partnered in 2014 for selling the first-generation ZenFone. In terms of Flipkart’s vision for the next couple of years, Ajay Veer Yadav, VP – Mobile and Large Appliances, highlighted its ‘Mobiles 40by20’ vision, wherein Flipkart is eyeing to capture 40 percent of the total smartphone market by 2020 and the Asus partnership seems to be a step in that direction.
