Following the extraordinary success of the Z3 Smartphone, BlackBerry has confirmed its ongoing focus on the Indian market which could play a crucial role in bringing the brand back to strength.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen has singled out India as one of the most crucial markets for the firm’s recovery. Having systematically crashed out of the world’s most obvious markets with a series of calamitous Smartphone launches, it’s still entirely possible for BlackBerry to bring itself back to admirable strength by focusing on India.
In a recent interview with the Economic Times, Chen stated that the new BlackBerry Z3’s Indian market success illustrated just how much potential there is in the region for bolstering the company’s comeback.
“India is one of BlackBerry’s top 10 markets and remains an extremely important region for us,” Chen told ET.
“Extending our leadership in enterprise mobility management (EMM) is a key to our transformation.
We are seeing a great opportunity to grow our presence in India as the enterprise market here begins to embrace mobility as a vital part of doing business,”
“India was also one of the first markets targeted for the BlackBerry Z3 and the device has been very well received by consumers.”
He spoke directly of the Z3’s success and his confidence that BlackBerry’s most recent major device launch has ticked all the right boxes in terms of what Indian Smartphone buyers hold in highest regard.
“The Z3 has been extremely well received in both markets and we continue to see strong demand for the device. In fact, initial inventory of the device nearly sold out in India within two weeks of the launch,”
“We hear from users that they like the price, screen size and battery life. This feedback demonstrates that we are meeting our customers’ needs, which is vital as we work to build share in India.”
As for future device launches, Chen failed to comment directly on speculation that a super-cheap $100 BlackBerry could be on the cards for the Indian market, insisting that for the time being the Z3 was the primary focus for the brand.
“I can’t provide too many details about our roadmap, but we will continue to offer customers a portfolio of devices across price points,”
“Right now, we are focusing on the BlackBerry Z3, which we believe is available at an attractive price point for the features and benefits it provides.”