Reliance Retail to tie up with Flipkart and Snapdeal to sell Lyf handsets

The Lyf Water 5 was recently launched on Amazon as an exclusive, but Reliance Retail now plans to tie up with Flipkart and Snapdeal as well and start selling devices on those platforms. By the first quarter this year, Lyf-branded handsets sold enough to become the fifth-largest selling smartphone in India. The Lyf handsets are 4G devices and are intended to get consumers on board the 4G bandwagon when Reliance Jio Infocomm’s 4G services launch later this year. In conversation with  Economic Times, a spokesperson for Reliance Retail-Devices claimed that Reliance had no intention of getting into a price war with brands like Samsung and the like. “Lyf aims to bring a rich digital experience within easy access of consumers through wide-ranging, high quality devices and an omni-channel retail reach, among other initiatives,” cites the report. While the Lyf handsets have been selling very well offline, working with over 1.2 lakh retailers, which include Reliance Digital, Reliance executives reportedly believe that tapping into the online market is necessary. With over 30 percent of all smartphones being purchased online, a tie-up with Flipkart and Snapdeal (as well as Amazon) will boost sales. It is believed that a focus on online sales will appeal to a younger customer base as they are more accustomed to purchasing online, adds the report. Disclaimer: Reliance Jio is owned by Reliance Industries, who also own Network18, the publisher of Firstpost and tech2