RIM to launch 15 BlackBerry premium stores by year-end

Canadian smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIM) will launch around 15 BlackBerry premium stores across the country by the end of this year to expand its business in India. The firm launched a store in Gurgaon Friday. It had opened one in Delhi last month. “We will be launching almost 10 to 15 BlackBerry premium stores by the end of the year covering all the top metros including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bangalore,” Sunil Dutt, managing director, RIM India, told IANS. [caption id=“attachment_307199” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters”]  [/caption] “These stores will offer holistic consumer experience on BlackBerry consumer and enterprise services,” he added. These stores would be having special zones featuring consumer and enterprise applications along with product service and a demo zone to highlight the qualities of BlackBerry smartphones. RIM also has over 5,000 retail points of presence across the country. Earlier this year the firm slashed prices of its handsets by up to 26 percent. While in December last year, it had reduced the price of its PlayBook by more than half. RIM also had global launch of its latest smartphone BlackBerry 9220 in India. Asked about its aggressive plans, Dutt said India with its growing youth population is a huge market. “In the recent past there has been a huge adoption of BlackBerry services, specially messenger services among Indian youth, and we are among the most aspirational brands here,” said Dutt. According to data by IT research firm CyberMedia, smartphone sales in India surged 87 percent at 11.2 million units in 2011 over the previous year. Nokia was the leader in the smartphones segment with 38 percent market share, followed by Samsung with 28 percent in 2011. RIM was third with a 15 percent share. IANS