Sony targets Rs 3,500-crore revenue from Xperia sales

NEW DELHI: Consumer electronics maker Sony plans to triple its sales from Xperia smartphones in India to Rs 3,500 crore within the financial year 2013-14 and intends to garner a larger market share in the process. Sony India managing director Kenichiro Hibi said that a marketing budget of Rs 300 crore had been outlined for achieving this target.

Sony launched the Xperia Z handset costing Rs 38,990 in India on Wednesday which will be commercially available from next week. The dust and water resistant touchscreen phone was introduced in its home market Japan last month. Hibi said sales channel counters in India would be doubled to 8,000 and dedicated service centres will be taken up to 300 from 200 in the next fiscal. The handset is the first to be developed completely by Sony after it split from partner Ericsson last year. The Xperia Z would compete with the high-end phones like Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S series that have prices ranging between Rs 36,000 and Rs 59,000.