Realme – a smartphone brand that debuted in India back in May as an online-only sub-brand of OPPO (now independent) – seems to be all set to increase the price of it smartphone(s) in India after Diwali.
Madhav Sheth – CEO of Realme India – took to Twitter hinting at a price hike in India post Diwali. If you are the kind of person who believes in reading national news, you must be aware that Indian Rupee (INR) hasn’t been doing well against American Dollar (USD) for sometime now. This has resulted in increased costs on smartphone manufacturers, which can ultimately lead to a price hike of their products.
The rupee rates are falling and as a brand we actually work on low margins. It indicates that we might have to upgrade the pricing, just to make sure that we continue to give you the best technology in our upcoming offerings. We are trying to figure out a solution post Diwali.👍
— Madhav Sheth (@MadhavSheth1) November 2, 2018
Brands like Realme and Xiaomi operate at lower margins which is why they are able to bring you smartphones with relatively better hardware at a lower price as compared to other “tech giants”. The depreciation of Indian Rupee against American Dollar further leads to reduced margins of these companies, which can force them to increase the price of their products to keep the business up and running.
“The rupee rates are falling and as a brand we actually work on low margins. It indicates that we might have to upgrade the pricing, just to make sure that we continue to give you the best technology in our upcoming offerings. We are trying to figure out a solution post Diwali.” said Madhav Sheth in a tweet.
“Traffic is increasing, pollution is increasing and so are the global prices against the rupee. It’s going to be long working days this diwali for us as we try our best to bring the same Power and Style to you at best prices. Hope diwali brings cheer to the rupee.” Sheth further tweeted.
While Sheth has hinted at a price hike in India, he didn’t reveal which Realme smartphones might get costlier post Diwali. For those unaware, Realme has launched a total of four smartphones in India until now – the Realme 1, the Realme 2, the Realme 2 Pro, and the Realme C1.
Well, Realme is not the only brand that will be increasing the price of its product(s) in India due to the depreciation of Indian Rupee. Back in April this year, Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi too increased the price of its products like Redmi Note 5 Pro and Mi LED TV 4 55-inch citing same reason. In fact, the Redmi 6 and Redmi 6A smartphones that were launched in India back in early September this year also carry introductory prices which are subject to change based on Indian Rupee’s position in the market.
If you are planning to buy a Realme smartphone, we suggest you do it before Diwali ends if you don’t want to end up paying more.
