HCL Infosystems to invest up to Rs 50 cr on rebranding

NEW DELHI: IT major HCL Infosystems on Thursday said it will invest up to Rs 50 crore over the next 2-3 years for rebranding its laptops and netbooks series under 'ME' brand as it eyes a 20 per cent in the category.

Starting tomorrow, HCL would sell its laptops and netbooks under the 'ME' brand replacing the earlier 'MiLeap' series of portable products.

"We are repositioning our brand to target the youth, who are the primary consumers as far as the laptop category is concerned. 'ME' is young and is feature-rich to cater to the demands...We would invest Rs 40-50 crore over the next 2-3 years for the rebranding exercise," HCL Infosystems Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ajai Chowdhry told reporters here.

The company is looking at increasing its share to 20 per cent over the next 2-3 years from the current about 7 per cent share, he added. The new range, comprising seven models would be available in a price range of Rs 19,000-65,000.

Talking about the demand, Chowdhry said, "The market has been flat but we have seen it picking up over the last two quarters (sequentially) and expect the coming quarters to do well."

The company also plans to introduce more feature-rich models to compete in the Indian market.