Swipe is not a familiar name among urban Indian consumers, but the brand has a strong presence in the offline tablet market across the country. Now, recognising the fast-growing online marketplace, the brand wants to register its presence there as well.
Naming its online only brand 'Elite', Swipe is planning to bring more premium smartphones to the online customer. The company has revealed plans to launch its first smartphone in the 'Elite' series in August.
After investing a year-and-a-half on research, Swipe is gearing up to launch an innovative device, designed especially for tech-savvy online customers and the aspiring youth.
"More than 50% of the Indian population is in youth and majority of them have high aspirations of owning a premium lifestyle gadget like a smartphone packed with a multitude of features," explains the company.
"In a marked departure from its traditional sales channels, the new device from Swipe will be sold as an 'online-only' property and will be launched exclusively on a leading e-commerce portal soon," it added.
A recent research on the behaviour of smartphone buyers by Counterpoint Research's Market Monitor service has revealed that close to one-fourth (22%) of the total smartphones sold in India were sold online in 2Q, 2015.
Shripal Gandhi, Founder & CEO of Swipe Technologies said: "There is a growing demand for our products online and the traction has increased by almost 200% during the last year. With changing purchasing patterns of the smartphone users, Swipe's upcoming offering through this new brand Elite will be available for sale only on e-commerce websites. The idea is to introduce a premium and superior smartphone that caters to extremely aspirational and tech savvy high-end youth segment."
Swipe is planning to launch phones under the 'Elite' brand every two months after the first launch and plans to spend Rs 2 million USD on marketing and promotional activities.
The smartphones in the 'Elite' series will be priced in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000. It would be interesting to see the actual price of the device that promises a next level of user experience in smartphones.
