Chinese smartphone firm Vivo again as IPL title sponsor

Chinese smartphone firm Vivo is again because the title sponsor of the Indian Premium League cricket match, nearly a yr after the sponsorship take care of the BCCI was suspended amid the India-China border standoff.
The firm, which competes with gamers like Xiaomi and Samsung within the Indian market, additionally said that it’ll broaden its portfolio of premium units, and deal with new applied sciences like 5G.
“Vivo is back as the title sponsor of IPL and that is very encouraging and exciting for us because IPL is the biggest property in India and is a perfect amalgamation of sports and entertainment, so we are looking forward to the 9th of April, when IPL begins,” Vivo India Director Brand Strategy Nipun Marya informed PTI on Wednesday.
He additionally mentioned that the short-term maintain was a mutual resolution, and the corporate and BCCI seemed on the bigger surroundings earlier than deciding on placing the sponsorship on maintain for a yr.
“The whole environment has certainly now changed for the better and overall the environment is better. I think it’s befitting that Vivo is back as the IPL title sponsor… Our old contract is as it is and we continue with all the terms and conditions we earlier had on the contract,” Marya mentioned.
This yr’s version of IPL will run from April 9 to May 30 throughout six venues — Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the ultimate on May 30 in addition to the play-offs.
Vivo’s sponsorship take care of the BCCI, value Rs 440 crore per yr, was suspended final season as a result of India-China border standoff. Vivo had gained the IPL title sponsorship rights for 5 years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore. It will now be the title sponsor until 2023.
Dream11 had been the IPL title sponsors for the 2020 version, successful the rights for Rs 222 crore. The matches have been performed within the UAE in view of the pandemic.
Marya cited analysis agency GfK’s information to state that the corporate had highest market share in offline retail in three out of 4 quarters final yr. As per the GfK report, Vivo held 27 per cent market share and clocked an annual progress of 10 per cent final yr even when the business shrank by 17 per cent in a pandemic-hit yr.
He added that the corporate has a presence in additional than 70,000 shops and that the model is doing effectively throughout geographies. Vivo may also add about 100 unique shops, taking the entire variety of such shops to 650 by the top of the yr.
Marya mentioned as per the GfK information of the December 2020 quarter, the market has grown by 5 per cent.
“So, I think that growth is coming back and that is why we are quite optimistic about the upcoming quarters and the year where we will be launching multiple new products. In fact, in the premium segment, we’re looking at launching five to six new products,” he mentioned.
Apart from focussing on introducing units with wonderful imaging capabilities, he mentioned the corporate may also deal with 5G and its portfolio of units priced above Rs 20,000 shall be 5G-enabled.
“There you will see a lot of action from our side and the way we have invested in 5G in the last so many years, Vivo take a strong position as far as launching products in 5G. We will be at the forefront of innovation, bringing latest product to the market when it comes to 5G,” he mentioned.
Vivo noticed its income in India rising over 45 per cent to about Rs 25,060 crore in FY20 over the earlier fiscal whilst its losses widened considerably over the earlier fiscal on account of upper complete bills.
“We have a significant retail presence, an annual production capacity of 33 million units, which makes us one of the strongest players in the Indian offline market. 2020 was a difficult year for all of us. Despite the pandemic, Vivo introduced technologically advanced products for customers and consolidated our robust distribution and sales network,” he mentioned.