The Country Director of realme Pakistan sees the CBU import ban as
being beneficial for smartphone manufacturers in Pakistan
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“An Import Ban on CBU Condition Smartphones Will Boost the Local
Assembly of Smartphones in Pakistan”– Syed Mashood Hassan, Country
Director, realme Pakistan
Increased taxation on the import of mobile phone parts was recently
announced in Pakistan. The policies that authorities had been enforcing
previously encouraged the import of mobile phone parts by granting
relief from import taxation to smartphone businesses. This resulted in
an influx of smartphone/ technology brands setting up local
manufacturing plants in the country including realme, the popular
Chinese technology brand which opened its assembly plant earlier this
year. All of this increased market activity was instrumental in
increasing the overall market share of the smartphone market up to USD
250 million and creating a plethora of jobs for the local population.
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With inflation on the rise, the government is taking necessary measures
to try and remedy the situation. The increased taxes being set are
dependent on the phone’s price bracket with the tax increasing
proportionally to the price range. realme Pakistan has had a great year
so far with the launch of its realme 9 series, the realme 9i and 9 Pro+,
as well as the latest budget C series handset, the realme C35.
realme Pakistan’s Country Director, Syed Mashood Hassan shed light on
the recent changes happening in the smartphone industry and discussed
how increased taxation will affect the state of the smartphone market.
According to Syed Mashood, the increased taxation on imports of mobile
phone parts will have an effect across the smartphone market as well as
consumers. Unfortunately, the end users will have to bear the brunt of
this policy change. However, realme fans need not worry as the tech
democratizer stays true to its promise of delivering high-end tech in an
affordable package and is working hard to ensure its products stay
affordable for consumers.
Users that are on the fringes of the premium segment might abandon the
segment and trickle down into the mid-range and budget smartphone
segments due to the increased burden of costs.This is an opportunity
that can prove to be beneficial for realme as users who were more
acquainted with premium-priced brands will start to look towards high
value for money brands like realme that can deliver similar
specifications at a slightly lower price point.
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In the past few months, the value of USD is frequently appreciating in
comparison to the Pakistani Rupee (PKR). This has had a devastating
effect on the buying power of consumers in Pakistan as goods and
services are becoming more expensive without an adjustment in income to
balance it out. realme is doing its best to maintain the buying power of
consumers by offering alternative channels to purchase its products.
The tech democratizer has collaborated with Bank Alfalah and other
offline channels in order to offer its customers the Buy Now, Pay Later
(BNPL) facility which allows customers to purchase a smartphone with
delayed payment. Alternatively, realme is offering increased support to
its other partners that offer the facility to purchase their products on
an installment basis. realme’s goal is to minimize the effect on the
buying power of consumers and allow them to purchase their products at a
markup of 0%.
realme’s progress in the last quarter has been on the rise, increasing
45% with respect to sales since January 2022 and garnering a great
response from customers especially after the launch of the realme C35
and they plan to continue to go strong in the latter half of 2022. The
brand’s focus will be on releasing three to four new smartphones with
4GB / 128GB and 6GB / 128GB specifications for its Gen-Z audience. In
August this year, the incredibly exciting realme Fan Fest 2022 will be
taking place. Syed Mashood hopes that it will be a fun-filled event for
loving realme fans and give the skeptics who have not had an experience
with the realme brand a chance to experience their products and fall in
love with realme as well. Recently across the border, our neighboring
country opened the world’s first realme Global Flagship Store. With
realme’s trajectory of growth so far, realme Pakistan is eager to follow
in their footsteps so realme fans can enjoy the ultimate realme
experience.
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The reduction of consumer buying power can definitely prove challenging
for smartphone manufacturers in Pakistan but it is not a challenge that
cannot be overcome. It is important for brands to adapt to changing
situations and facilitate their consumers wherever possible. realme
Pakistan will strive to continue its commitment to provide superior
value to its consumers and do what it can to lift the burden off the
buyers in the market.
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