Consolidation in Mobile Handset Retailing

The Future Axiom Mobile Handset vendors with 340 stores across India including the shop-in-shops have decided to push the Exit button and join hands with Essar Group’s The Mobilestore for a minority stake in the company.Furure Axiom sells about 35,000 handsets every month on PAN India basis.

This is actually a good move by Kishore Biyani since Future Axiom competes with other formats of the group – eZone and Electronics Bazaar which offer a wider bouquet of Electronics goods. Mobile Retailers are facing stiff competition from online retailers as well and thus operating with wafer thin margins is nonviable.

The consolidation in the Indian Mobile retailing space began with MobileNXT selling out to Gitanjali Gems retail entity followed by Spice Group acquiring the RPG Cellucom’s [Spencers Retail Group] cell phone retailing business.

Mobile handset retailing in India is a big business and is estimated to be worth $12 Bn by IDC data. More than one half of the market is in the hands of Nokia Priority dealers appointed by Nokia. And in the next wave the mobile service providers are likely to consolidate 🙂