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With Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has confirmed that he is venturing into the smartphones business and industry experts welcomed his new venture -- though with a bit of caution.
Khan, who owns the 'Being Human' clothing brand, said, "We have just started our entry into the category, we need to be careful. If people buy our products and like it, we will see. We are starting the smartphones in small numbers and we hope to have minimum losses and maximum gain."
According to reports, the Bollywood superstar is targeting at the entry- to middle-level smartphone segment (which is anywhere between Rs 8,000-Rs 20,000).
Jaideep Mehta, Managing Director, IDC South Asia, said, "Bhaijaan's range of mobiles will surely be the most 'Wanted'! He is capitalising on his personal popularity to start this new business. How he will be able to build it into a sustainable enterprise remains to be seen."
Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst, Mobile Devices and Ecosystmes, Counterpoint Research, said, "For the smartphone to be successful, it will have to be different from the current offerings in the market. The differentiating can be on any of the software or hardware going into the phone. A price point of below Rs 10,000 will make the phone accessible to a number of users looking for an upgrade from a cheaper device."
Faisal Kawoosa, Principal Analyst (Telecoms) at CyberMedia Research (CMR), said, "It's a two-way strategy for connecting with the youth and building a community. Firstly, smartphones somehow connect with today's youth and creating such a product line connotes connecting with the youth community. Secondly, this will open up a channel for Salman's fan club to access exclusive Salman content and go for huge content consumption,"
Krishna Mukherjee, Another Analyst with CMR, said, "Salman's fan club will definitely give it a leg up but, in the long run, the brand needs to differentiate itself to stand out in the crowd."
