Asus aims for tablet growth in India

Asus is targeting to corner 20 percent tablet market share in India, as well as bolster sales in netbook and notebook segments, by 2013.

Citing Uneaz Quraishi, director of sales and distribution at Asus India, The Hindu Business Line reported Saturday the Taiwanese PC maker hopes to sell 400,000 tablets, or 20 percent of the two million tablet market in India, in the coming year, aided by aggressive marketing and catering new products to suit consumers' needs. It currently has a 7-percent stake in the market, he noted.

Besides tablets, the company is also looking to increase its market share in the netbook and notebook segments. Its overall tablet, netbook and notebook business is growing by 15 percent annually, with China its top market with 5.5 million units sold annually, Quraishi stated.

Asus currently has 60 stores in India, and 15 new stores will be opened within December. By Mar. 31, 2013, there will be 100 stores in total, the executive added.

One of the devices Asus hopes will makes a splash in the Indian market is the Google Nexus 7 tablet, which went on sale in India in November retailing at INR 19,990 (US$367).

On the other end of the price scale, it plans to unveil a budget 7-inch Android-powered tablet for around INR 15,000 (US$275) in January 2013. Alex Huang, managing director of system business group at Asus India, told The Mobile Indian blog last month: "Till now we didn't have a tablet catering to the entry-level buyers in the country, which is quite a huge market. But with the launch of the 7-inch tab in January, Asus will address this issue."