- The company said that Karbonn K9 is manufactured in India as part of Make in India plan
- Karbonn K9 features 1800 mAh battery and a two MP camera
Karbonn Mobiles said that it has been manufacturing Karbonn K9 feature phone in India since 2016. The company also mentioned that the phone has been in Indian market since 2011 and it has sold 25 million units of the same.
Pardeep Jain, Managing Director, Karbonn Mobiles said, “Karbonn K9 has been serving the people of our nation for almost a decade now. Being one of the longest running models in the Karbonn portfolio, K9 is still very much in huge demand and moving with a fast pace due to its cutting-edge features, ease of use, value-for-money and cost-effective pricing.”
85,000 retail partners
Karbonn says it has over 85,000 plus retail partners and 850 plus service centers across India. The company generally focuses on the budget category both in smart as well as feature phones market. It is to be noted here that Karbonn K9 is available both in the online as well as offline sales channel.
Pradeep Jain told EFY Group, “K9 is predominantly an offline model but it also sells on online channels like Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm, Udaan to name a few. We sell close to 10 per cent of our monthly volume on online platforms and the balance through offline.”
Feature phones market in India
According to a TRAI Report around 30-35 per cent of the people in India still do not own a mobile phone and 40 per cent of the remaining own a feature phone. Pointing towards this report Pradeep Jain added, “Our vision is not only to ‘Make in India’ but also create products ‘Made for India’. Karbonn has been serving India with the best of customized phones for the past 10 years and wishes to keep the journey going.”
Karbonn K9, as per the company, has sold 25 million units till date and is being manufactured in India since March 2016 as a part of the company’s Make in India initiative. Company’s official statement read, “The successful running of Karbonn Jumbo K9 for the past 9 years has made Karbonn a brand that is trusted by the Indian Market in an impeccable manner. Currently priced at Rs 1200 only, the new avatar of K9 comes loaded with value added services transforming the feature phone into a power packed multi – media phone. Some of the other features include big display, powerful speaker, two MP rear camera, dual SIM, 16 GB expandable memory and a powerful 1800mAh battery.”
It is to be noted here that this feature phone from the house of Karbonn was originally launched for a price of Rs 1700 in India. Karbonn, like Micromax had also seen glorious days in the smartphone market in India in the past. Recently, there were news of Karbonn’s owner Jaina Group acquiring Sansui’s brand license in India.
Pradeep Jain, about Karbonn retailing this feature phone in international markets said, “This model has been very popular and the response has been very encouraging in many International markets including South Asian countries, Middle East and Africa.”
He exclusively told EFY Group, “K9 is predominantly an offline model but it also sells on online channels like Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm, Udaan to name a few. We sell close to 10 per cent of our monthly volume on online platforms and the balance through offline.”
