1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The internship of 10 weeks in International Marketing Service Pvt. Ltd, Samsung Smartphone
was very fruitful and got an opportunity to learn more about the mobile market. During the
internship the professional skills have also been developed in terms of approaching market,
tackling with the venders, retailers and the end users of mobile phones.
During the internship, marketing research was conducted on mobile phone market in
Nepal. Both the secondary and primary data were used to analysis the survey. For secondary data
IMS marketing department and other authorized distributor data were used and primary data
collection for this report consists of observations, questionnaires and interviews. Open or
unstructured interviews and questions were conducted for data collection.
Overall mobile phone of Nepal is indicated by the New Road i.e. about 70%. There are
around 9 authorized mobile distributors like International Marketing Service, Neotric,
Paramount, Tele Talk, Network Solution, Call Mobility, CG Impex, Allied Trader Link and
Pashpati Trader. Different types of mobile phone brands available in Nepal are Samsung, Nokia,
Apple, Intex, Sony Xperia, LG, HTC, Colors, Karbon etc. Chinese brands are the one which has
occupied the huge market share of the Nepalese mobile phone market. It is because of the low
price. The price of mobile phone in Nepal ranges from Rs. 1,400 to Rs. 84,999. All together,
there are around 71 mobile phones sets lies below the price level Rs.5,000 and around 29 mobile
sets lies above Rs. 30,000. Hence IMS has the around 12mobile phone sets lies above the price
level of Rs. 30,000. The promotion activities that most of the authorized distributors in Nepal
follow the BTL strategies i.e. in-shop branding and front- shop branding. The major issue
identified during market survey was the gray mobile market.

Several issues related to the practice in retailers market have been identified through this
study. The retailer perceptions, the competitive frame in the promotion and sales as well as the
satisfaction level have been analyzed. From this internship, knowledge and experience with
marketing departments as well as working principles of IMS organization are gained. Numerous
skills and knowledge are acquired that would be fruitful for the future career development. From
the analysis, it can be interpreted that the Samsung phone mobile is the market leader in the
 2

mobile phone market in Nepal. But, the company focuses more on branding or promotion rather
than developing the customer relationship.
In order to make the high profit and to meet their objective, IMS needs to focus on the
Customer relationship.
 3

Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 5
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 5
1.1 Concept of Mobile Phone Market ....................................................................................................... 5
1.1.1 History of Mobile Phone .............................................................................................................. 6
1.1.2 Current Global Market of Mobile Phone ..................................................................................... 7
1.1.3 Introduction of Mobile Phone Market in Nepal ........................................................................... 8
1.1.4 International Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd (IMS) ...................................................................... 10
1.2 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................................. 13
1.3 Objective of the Study ...................................................................................................................... 13
1.4 Limitation of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 14
1.5 Organization of the Study ................................................................................................................. 14
CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 15
2. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 15
2.1 Research Design............................................................................................................................ 15
2.2 Data Collection Procedure ............................................................................................................ 15
2.3 Nature and Source of Data ............................................................................................................ 15
2.4 Analysis of Data ............................................................................................................................ 16
CHAPTER III: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ............................................................. 17
3. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 17
3.1 Secondary Data Analysis .................................................................................................................. 18
3.1.1 Different Brand Products of Mobile Phone available ................................................................ 18
3.1.2. Number of Mobile Phone models on the basis of Price range .................................................. 22
3.1.3 Promotion Activities of mobile phones ..................................................................................... 23
3.2 Primary Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 24
3.2.1 Competition Analysis of mobile phone models in the market ................................................... 24
3.2.2 Sales of different brands mobile ................................................................................................ 25
3.2.3 Total Number of mobile outlets in Kathmandu valley (Active outlets and Grey selling outlets)
............................................................................................................................................................ 27
 4

3.2.4 Capacity of Retailer influencing during the purchasing decision of Consumer......................... 27

3.2.5 Mobile Phone in the Evoked Set of Consumer .......................................................................... 29
3.2.6 Total Number of different types of Mobile Phone used by consumer ....................................... 30
3.2.7 Factors affecting during the purchase of mobile phone for consumer ....................................... 31
3.2.8 Influencing factors during the purchasing of mobile phone ...................................................... 32
3.2.9 Consumer awareness about the grey mobile .............................................................................. 33
3.3 Major Finding ................................................................................................................................... 35
CHAPTER IV: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation ................................................................... 36
4.1 Summary & Conclusion. ................................................................................................................... 36
4.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................. 37
 5

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction

1.1 Concept of Mobile Phone Market

A mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone, and a hand phone) is a device that
can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic
area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator,
allowing access to the public telephone network. By contrast, a cordless telephone is used only
within the short range of a single, private base station.

In addition to telephony, modern mobile phones also support a wide variety of

other services such as text messaging, MMS, email, Internet access, short-range wireless
communications (infrared, Bluetooth), business applications, gaming and photography. Mobile
phones that offer these and more general computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones.

The term 'marketing' refers to the action or business of promoting and selling products or
services. Marketing activities and strategies result in making product available that satisfy
customers while making profits for the companies that offer those products. And the market is an
actual or nominal place where forces of demand and supply operate and where buyer and seller
interact (directly or through intermediaries) to trade goods, services or contracts or instruments
for money or barter. Market includes mechanisms or means for determining price of the traded
products, communicating the price information, facilitating deals and transactions and effecting
distribution. The market for particular product is made up of existing and potential customers
who need it and have ability and willingness to pay for it.

The mobile phone market is the place where demand and supply of the mobile phone operate and
buying and selling take place between the potential customer and seller. The marketing of mobile
phone includes all the marketing mix. .i.e. Product, price, place and promotions. The mobile
companies use all kind of marketing activities and strategies to be the leader in the market place
of mobile phone.
 6

1.1.1 History of Mobile Phone

Early predecessors of cellular phones included analog radio communications from ships and
trains. The race to create truly portable telephone devices began after World War II, with
developments taking place in many countries. The advances in mobile telephony have been
traced in successive generations from the early "0G" (zeroth generation) services like the Bell
System's Mobile Telephone Service and its successor, Improved Mobile Telephone Service.
These "0G" systems were not cellular, supported few simultaneous calls, and were very
expensive.

The first handheld mobile cell phone was demonstrated by Motorola in 1973. The first
commercial automated cellular network was launched in Japan by NTT in 1979. In 1981, this
was followed by the simultaneous launch of the Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT) system in
Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Several other countries then followed in the early to
mid-1980s. These first generation ("1G") systems could support far more simultaneous calls, but
still used analog technology.

In 1991, the second generation (2G) digital cellular technology was launched in Finland
by Radiolinja (Finnish company) on the GSM standard, which sparked competition in the sector,
as the new operators challenged the incumbent 1G network operators.

Ten years later, in 2001, the third generation (3G) was launched in Japan by NTT DoCoMo on
the WCDMA standard. This was followed by 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G enhancements based on
the high-speed packet access family, allowing UMTS networks to have higher data transfer
speeds and capacity.

By 2009, it had become clear that, at some point, 3G networks would be overwhelmed by the
growth of bandwidth-intensive applications like streaming media.Consequently, the industry
began looking to data-optimized 4th-generation technologies, with the promise of speed
improvements up to 10-fold over existing 3G technologies. The first two commercially available
technologies billed as 4G were the WiMAX standard (offered in the U.S. by Sprint) and
the LTE standard, first offered in Scandinavia by TeliaSonera.
 7

1.1.2 Current Global Market of Mobile Phone

Currently the most leading brand of mobile phones in the global market are Samsung, Apple,
Lenovo, LG electronics, Huawei and other mobile brands includes HTC, Sony etc.

In the third quarter of 2013, worldwide sales of smartphones accounted for 55 percent of all
mobile phones sold during the period, with Samsung and Google's Android increasing their lead
over Apple and its mobile-operating system. Although Samsungs market share was flat in the
third quarter of 2013, the South Korean tech giant outshone Apple, whose smartphone market
share dropped by 2.2 percentage points from the third quarter of 2012, despite selling almost 6
million more units during the three-month period than it did in the same period last year. Lenovo
nearly doubled its sales over last year to become the world's third-largest smartphone vendor for
the first time, with sales increasing to almost 13 million units, up 84.5 percent from last year. LG
Electronics and Huawei rounded out the top five smartphone vendors list with nearly flat growth
in their market shares.

Table No 1.1 Worldwide Smart phone Sales in 2013.

Mobile Brand Units Sold Market Share %

Samsung 80,357 32.1

Apple 30,330 12.1

Lenovo 12,882 5.1

LG Electronics 12,055 4.8

Huawei 11,666 4.7

Others 102,942 41.1

Total 250,232 100

(Source: Gartner Nov.2013)

 8

Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users added up to 455.6 million units in the third quarter of
2013, an increase of 5.7 percent from the same period last year adding that sales are on pace to
reach 1.81 billion units by the end of 2013, a 3.4 percent increase from 2012.Meanwhile, sales of
smartphones around the world hit more than 250 million units, up 45.8 percent from the third
quarter of 2012.

In the smartphone operating-system market, Android continued to dominate the industry with
more than 80 percent of the market's share in the third quarter of 2013. And, while Apple's iOS
and BlackBerry suffered a drop in their worldwide market shares, Microsofts Windows Phone
showed significant growth, albeit from a low base.

Table No 1.2 Worldwide Smartphone Sales by operating system in 2013.

Operating System Units Sold Market Share %

Android 205,023 81.9

iOS 30,330 12.1

Microsoft 8,912 3.6

BlackBerry 4,401 1.8

Bada 633 0.3

Symbian 458 0.2

Others 475 0.2

Total 250,232 100

(Source: Gartner Nov.2013)

1.1.3 Introduction of Mobile Phone Market in Nepal

Nepal is a developing country with the total population of 26,494,504 covering the total area
of147,181 square kilometers. The total nominal GDP of the country is $19.921 billion and per
 9

capital is $743. Nepal has lately evolved in the mobile communication and is in the recent days
developing as an industry. Nepal is also upgrading in the field of technology and
telecommunication with six authorized telecommunication operators. (Nepal Telecom, Ncell,
United Telecom Limited, STM Telecom Sanchar Pvt. Ltd, Nepal Satellite Telecom Pvt.Ltd and
Smart Telecom Pvt. Ltd.). Among the total population of the Nepal around 81.72% of the people
are using telephone. The overall mobile phone penetration rate in Nepal is about 74.33%. The
two major players of mobile market or GSM service providers in Nepal are Nepal Telecom and
Ncell. The total subscribers of GSM mobile and GPRS are in increasing trend so the mobile
phone market is also in increasing trend in Nepal.

Table No 1.3 Total Number of GSM subscribers in Nepal in 2013.

Operators GSM Subscriber Percentage
Nepal Telecom 7,979,403 42.33
Ncell 10,867,307 57.67
Total 18,846,710 100
(Source: Nepal Telecommunication Authority, February 2014)

Table No 1.4 Total number of GPRS/Data/Internet subscribers in Nepal in 2013.

Operators GSM Subscriber Percentage

Nepal Telecom 3,535,909 49.66
Ncell 3,584,239 50.34
Total 7,120,148 100
(Source: Nepal Telecommunication Authority, February 2014)

The above tables show that the leading mobile operators providing GSM service and data/
internet service to the customer is Ncell i.e. 57.67 % Subscriber of GSM service and 50.34% of
data/ internet subscriber. Even though Nepal telecom is the leading operator in
telecommunication industry in Nepal, It is the second leading operator in providing the GSM
service and GPRS/Data/internet service in mobile set. (i.e. 42.08 % GSM subscribers and 47.44
% of GPRS subscribers)
 10

1.1.4 International Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd (IMS)

International Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd. (IMS) Founded in 1993 is the Authorized Distributer
of Samsung Mobiles since 2001 in Nepal, IMS is the pioneers in the Nepalese market in terms of
mobile phone importers. International Marketing Services (IMS) available to approximately 20
million people by covering all 14 zones of the country and 55 Districts. IMS is the only company
to have 5 authorized mobile service centers across different zones which have been providing
excellent after-sales services and 15 Samsung smartphone caf across the country. Samsung
Mobile has all kinds of phones with different features as per your needs and even more! A wide
range of economic phones as well as high end smartphones makes its the leading brand in the
Nepalese smartphone industry.

1.1.4.1 Mission
The mission of IMS is to be the best mobile phone distributor by providing customers with
outstanding service and with the latest technology to stay connected and to make Samsung the
number one mobile phone brand in Nepal.

1.1.4.2 Range of Samsung mobile Models

On the basis of geographical, demographic and Income level of customer IMS introduced three
range of Samsung mobile. However, Samsung mobile got specific market share in middle range
segment. The ranges of model are

1. ULC Segment ( below 3000)

It targets low income group of people i.e. working class and low income level people.

2. Features Segment ( between 5000 15000)

It targets high as well as middle income group of people i.e. working class, teenager, upper
lower and upper middle class group.

3. Mid-Mass Segment ( between 15000- 35000)

It has especially targeted upper middle group people i.e. officer label.

4. Flagship Segment (Above 35000).

 11

It especially targeted to the upper higher class people i.e. Business class and professional
people.

1.1.4.3 Distribution Channel

Samsung Company (Korea)

International Marketing
Service Pvt. Ltd (Authorized
Distributor)

Showroom (National Regional Distributors (RD)

Mobile Hub)

Retailers

End User

Figure No 1.1 Distribution Channel of Samsung Mobile phone in Nepal.

The above figure shows that firstly, the company (IMS) import mobile phones from Korea
(Samsung Company), after that they brought down to warehouse of company i.e. logistic.
From IMS warehouse the goods are delivered to regional distributor, showroom (National
mobile Hub) and also directly to some famous retails shops. Finally through those channel it
goes in hand of end consumer.
 12

1.1.4.4 Map of Samsung smartphone Coverage

1.1.4.5 Environmental Analysis for Samsung Smartphone

Porters Five Forces model is an excellent method for analyzing the competitive environment
which is classifies into the following areas:

Competitive rivalry:
Considerably, the competitive rivalry in the mobile phone market is very high. In the
context of Nepal, Samsung mobile faces a lot of competition from Chinese brand and
Indian brand mobile as: DTC, G-fives, Colors, Micromax, Karbonetc due to lower price
as well as new brands. These authorized distributors of mobile phone in Nepal compete
with each other on the basis of providing after sales service, marketing and providing
extra benefit and facilities for their consumer.
Buyers Power:
In Nepalese market, the customers have a high bargaining power. It is because there are
varieties of mobile phone available in the market giving the customer a lot of choices.
Furthermore the consumers are in search of low cost mobile phone rather than the
 13

branded one. Also the customer switching costs is high, which puts the buyers at a better
bargaining position.

Suppliers Power:
Supplier bargaining power is very low in the field of mobile phone market in Nepal. The
reason is that there is only one sole authorized distributor of Samsung phone in Nepal i.e.
International Marketing Service Pvt. Ltd. The Samsung Company has no any other
option in Nepalese market.
Substitute Goods:
The threat of these substitute goods is average. It depends on the consumers buying
behavior. If customers are brand loyalty then switching power is low and vice-versa.
New Entrants:
The threat of new entrants in the mobile phone sector in Nepalese Market is very high.
New mobile phone brand can enter in the market. Recently then new brand enter into the
Nepalese market i.e. Huawei. And also, in this sector the regulations for new entry are
low.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

This study is trying to make an important attempt to study the mobile phone market in Nepal.
This research tends to find out various issue related to the mobile phone market in Nepal.

1. What is the present condition of Mobile Phone Market in Nepal?

2. What are the major problems faced by Mobile Phone trader in Nepal?
3. What are different typesof activities related to marketing mix done in mobile market in
Nepal?
4. What is the role of retailer in influencing the purchasing decision of consumer in mobile
phone? And who else other than retailer influence the consumer in purchasing decision?

1.3 Objective of the Study

The general objectives of the study are to identify the present market situation and problems of
the mobile phone and consumer behaviors toward the mobile phone in Nepal.
 14

1.4 Limitation of the Study

The limitations of the study are enlisted as follows:

1) The study focused on major market of Kathmandu Valley.

2) The study covers overall retail outlets of Kathmandu Valley.
3) The study is fully based on Academic requirement.
4) The study is conducted within the financial resource and time constraint.

1.5 Organization of the Study

The study has been divided into five main chapters. They are as follows:

Chapter one: Introduction

The first Chapter of the study deals with the subject matter like introduction of mobile phone,
history of mobile phone, background or the study etc. It also contains statement of the problem,
objective of the study and limitation and organization of the study.

Chapter Two: Research Methodology

The chapter two describes the research methodology adopted for carrying out the study. This
chapter deals with the methods and techniques used in the research study.

Chapter Three: Presentation and Analysis of data

The chapter three explains how the data for the study are presented and analyzed. The primary
data are presented using different statistical tools and analyzed with the findings.

Chapter Four: Summary, Recommendation and Conclusion

Lastly the fourth chapter deals with summary and recommendation of the study.

A bibliography and appendices has also been attached at the end of the study.
 15

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2. Introduction
Research methodology describes the methods and processes to be followed during the research.
The basic objective of the study is to find the present situation of the mobile market in Nepal and
to analysis the market mix of mobile phone. In this chapter, focuses have been made on research
design, data collection procedure nature and source of data, and analysis of data.

2.1 Research Design

For the research study, the informations were collected from the survey of retail mapping, top
five brand sales in Kathmandu valley as well as out of valley and were analyzed. This study
therefore is descriptive in nature.

This study combines survey through questionnaire with the retailer and SEC of IMS Samsung
Smartphone. The data gathered were classified and tabulated according to the needs of the
research.

2.2 Data Collection Procedure

The data for the research are primary as well as secondary in nature. These data's are collected
through meetings, direct interviews and questionnaires with the target groups. Secondary data's
are collected through various bulletins; publications published by government and non
government organizations etc.

2.3 Nature and Source of Data

This study was conducted by generating primary data as well as secondary data. In order to
gather secondary data the following source were used.

1. National Population and Household Census 2011.

2. Management Information System published in February 2014 by Nepal
Telecommunication Authority.
3. Price List Published By different Authorized mobile Distributors.
4. International Newspaper -Gartner Nov.2013
5. National Newspaper and magazines. (The Kathmandu Post, The Himalayan Times, The
Kantipur Post, Republica, Friday etc.)
6. Report of International Marketing service Pvt. Ltd.
 16

Furthermore additional information for primary data was obtained by using questionnaires forms
asked with the mobile retailers, SEC of IMS Samsung and consumer too. As well as market
observation was also done to collect the primary data.

2.4 Analysis of Data

The primary data was analyzed by making pie chart graphs and different tables. They are used in
the research in order to draw out the reliable conclusion.

Percentage analysis
Bar diagram
Pie chart
 17

CHAPTER III: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

3. Introduction
There are a large number of mobile phone brands available in Nepalese market which is
distributed legally as well as illegally. Chinese brands are the one which has occupies the huge
market share of Nepalese mobile phone market. It is because of the low price level targeting to
the low income level customer of Nepal. Beside these, Samsung is the leading brand in the
mobile market of Nepal. There are other international brands like Nokia, Sony, Lenovo, LG, and
HTC. There are different authorized distributors who distribute mobile phone in Nepalese market
which are listed below in the table.

Table No 3.1 Name Lists of leading Authorized Mobile distributors in Nepal.

Mobile Brand Distributors Name

Samsung International Marketing Service (IMS)
Nokia Neotric and Paramount
Spice Tele Talk
Colors Tele Talk
Micromax Network Solution
G-five Call Mobility
Hauwei Call Mobility
L.G CG Impex
Karbon Allied trader Link and Pashpati trader
(Source: Marketing Department of IMS)
 18

3.1 Secondary Data Analysis

3.1.1 Different Brand Products of Mobile Phone available

There are different brand of Mobile Phone Products available in Nepal which are Samsung,
Apple, Sony, Karbon, Colors, Micromax, Lava, Lenovo, Fly, DTC, Spices, Kivi etc. Basically
there are different types of mobile phone products which are ULC/ Keypad products, Touch
Product/features and Smartphone.

Table No 3.2 List of mobile phone brand available in Nepal.

International Brand Indian Brand Chinese Brand

Samsung Colors Fly
Apple Karbon Huawei
Nokia Spice DTC
Intex Micromax G-five
Sony Xperia Lava Bird, Umeing
Lenovo Wincom Vellocom, Omes
LG Xolo ZIGO, Korbv
HTC Videocon Yestel, Cubit
Maxx Richtel, M-horse
Kivi Blutel, Touchken
Sking, Yxtel
Baojun, Vmeign
(Source: IMS Branding Department)

Table No 3.2 shows the different types of international brands, Indian brands and Chinese brands
of mobile phones available in Nepal. Basically there are a lot of Chinese bands available in
Nepal. Samsung mobile phone is the leading international brand in Nepal and then Nokia, Sony.
 19

Table No 3.3 Different brand with different models available in Nepalese market.

Models of Mobile on the basis of its types.

Brand Name Smartphone Touch/Feature ULC/ Keypad
Star, Star pro,
Young Dous,
Trend, S Dous, S
Dous 2, Core,
Samsung Mage, Grand, C3312-R,C3262 E1200,E1205,E202 &
Grand 2, S3, S4, & S5222 E1207
S4 mini, S3,
Note 2, Note 3,
Tab II, Tab III 7
Wifi, Tab III 7
3G. Tab III 8 3G
C1505E, C1605E
Dual, C1905M,
Sony Xperia C2005MDual,
C2105L, ST26iJ,
C2350C,
C5302SP,
C5502ZR,
C6902Z1,
C6802Zultra.

Iris 349S, 349+, ARC 4, 11+, 1+, 9i,

502, 401e, 402- 8c, 12.
Lava 3G, 405, 455, D135 KKT 10, 14, 21, 27,
504Q 35+, 40s
SPARK 247, 285, 245
C11
 20

A 27, 34, 40, 67,

72 Canvas Viva,
Micromax 74 Canvas Fun,
76 Canvas Fun,
88 Canvas
Music,
92 Canvas Lite,
110Q Canvas 2+,
116 Canvas HD,
117 Canvas
Magnus, 240
Doodle2, 210
canvas 4, 250
Canvas Turbo

Lenovo A390, S720,

S880, S890,
K860, K900-
16GB

X-110 Quard, X-
200 Bold2,
Colors X-65 Bold Genx,
X-15 IDOL3.5,
X-11 Star3.5,
X-130 HD, x-
120Q ShineII, X-
40 Star4.0, X-
33CG star CG,
X-55 Shine1,
X140 K1, X-150
 21

K2, X-16 IDOL,

X-30 Star 3G, X-
22 WAVE, X-27
WAVE,

A15, A15+, A24, V1585 V 1415N, 1413, 1416,

Videocon A55 QHD 1415+, 1417, 1521,
1523, 1534+, 1538

A500S,Q600,
Xolo Q700, Q1000,
A600,Q900,
Q700i
(Source: Price List published by Authorized Distributors 2014)

The above table shows different brand models of mobile phones of different types available in
Nepalese market. Recently, there are large numbers of smartphone in the market of Nepal from
different brand. Nepalese mobile market is totally converting into the smartphone market.
 22

3.1.2. Number of Mobile Phone models on the basis of Price range

The authorized distributor of mobile phones in Nepal has published their own price list for their
different models phones. The price of mobile phone in Nepal ranges from Rs.1,400 (Colors F3)
to Rs.84,999 (Sony Xperia Zultra).
Table No 3.4 The total number of mobile phone models in different price range in Nepal.
(In Rs 1000)
Brand/ Less than 5-10 10-15 15-20 20-25 25-30 30
Price list 5 Above
Samsung 1 2 3 2 2 0 12
Nokia 4 11 11 2 1 1 6
Micromax 0 3 4 2 1 1 3
Lava 16 5 2 1 1 0 0
SonyXperia 0 0 1 1 3 2 4
Videocon 10 3 0 0 1 0 0
Colors 12 9 3 4 1 1 1
Lenovo 0 0 1 0 1 2 2
Xolo 0 0 1 3 1 0 1
Karbon 28 8 4 6 1 0 0
(Source: Price List published by Authorized Distributors 2014)
Figure No 3.1 The total number of mobile phone models in different price range in Nepal.
30

25

20 Less than 5,000

5,000-10,000
15
10,000-15,000
10 15,000-20,000
20,000-25,000
5
25,000-30,000
0 30,000 Above

(Source: Table No 3.4)

 23

The above table and figure show that the large number of Karbon models phones lies in the price
range of less than Rs. 5,000 where as large numbers of Samsung smartphone models lies in the
highest price range i.e. Rs. 30,000 above. The large number of Colors, Videocon and Lava
models i.e. 12, 10 & 16 respectively lie in the low price range where as some models of Nokia,
Sony xperia, Micromax, Lenovo also lie in the high price range. Hence, Samsung has the larger
number in the highest price range i.e. 12.

3.1.3 Promotion Activities of mobile phones

There are different strategies of promotional activities i.e. above the line (ATL), Below the Line
(BTL) and through the line (TTL). ATL focus on broadcasting and publishing to the mass
audience which are Television Ads, Radio Ads, Cinema hall Ads and National Newspaper and
magazines etc whereas BTL focus on the target group or certain area or niche focused like in
shop, shop front and road shows, display units, events etc.. TTL focuses on the both strategies.

Hence the authorized distributors of mobile phones in Nepal focus more on the BTL strategies
for promoting their brand and a bit on ATL. Basically they do in-shop branding with their brand
by decorating the retail show with their new models phone in an appropriate location in the retail
shop as well as they also do the shop front branding by placing their brand name in front of the
retail outlet. The other BTL strategies are microbus and bus branding, Bus-station branding, and
also participating in different types of events to expose their brands and the new models of
phones. They basically go with the ATL branding during the launch of their new models in the
market through press conference. They also promote their brand using online portal like social
networking site (face book), own official site, other varies online sites as well as participates in
different Television shows and Radio program to promote their brands.
 24

3.2 Primary Data Analysis

3.2.1 Competition Analysis of mobile phone models in the market

In the market of Nepal, different brand of mobile phone models are fighting with each other on
the basis on price as well as different features. Samsung smartphone is the leading brand of
mobile phone among the international brands in Nepal which has occupied a bit huge mobile
market share than other international mobile brand like Nokia, LG, Sony etc.

Table No: 3.5 Competition analyses between different Samsung, Colors and Huawei.

Brand
Particulars Samsung Colors Huawei
Model S Duos 2 Quad II Ascend G 610
Feature 4.2 Android, 4, 1.2 4.2 Android, 4.5, 1.3 4.2 Andrid, 5, 1.2
GHz Dual-Core, 1500 GHz Quard Core, GHz Quard core,
mAh 1800 mAh 2150 mAh
Price 18,500 15,000 19,000
(Source: Competitor Analysis Survey on February 2014)

The table shows that Samsung S Duos 2 is fighting with Color Quad II and Huawei Ascend G
610 with price as well as some features like operating system, Display and battery.

Table No: 3.6 Competition analyses between different Samsung and LG.

Brand
Particulars Samsung LG
Model Core G Pro Lite
Feature 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, 4.3, 1.2 GHz Dual- 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, 5.5, 1 GHz Dual
Core, 1800 mAh core, 31400mAh
Price 24,200 34,500
(Source: Competitor Analysis Survey on February 2014)

The table shows that Samsung Galaxy Core is competing with LG G Pro Lite with the features.
 25

Table No: 3.7 Competition analyses between different Samsung, Sony and Huawei.

Brand
Particulars Samsung Sony Huawei
Model Grand 2 Xperia C Ascend G 700
Feature 4.3 Jelly Bean, 5.25, 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, 5, 1.2 4.2 Jelly Bean, 5, 1.2
1.2 GHz Quad core, GHz Quard Core, GHz Quard core, 2150
2600mAh 2390mAh mAh

Price 36,900 22,000 26,500

(Source: Competitor Analysis Survey on February 2014)

The table shows the competition between the different brands models with Samsung brand
models. Samsung Galaxy Core is fighting with Sony Xperia C and Huawei Ascend G700 with
price as well as features in the market. The other brands are Lenovo P 780, 920 lenovo,
Micromax A250, Karbon S5, A29 which are competing with Samsung Galaxy Grand 2.

3.2.2 Sales of different brands mobile

For the following data, only 15 top retail outlets were selected at Tamrakar where the data were
collected on the basis on weekly sales and converted into the monthly sales (5 weeks in a month)

Table No 3.8 Weekly and Monthly sales of different brand mobile phones.

Brands Weekly sales Monthly Sales Percentage %

Samsung 558 2,790 27.75
Colors 415 2,075 20.64
Micromax 186 930 9.25
Sony 117 585 5.82
Nokia 343 1,715 17.05
Lenovo 23 115 1.14
Lava 109 545 5.42
Karbon 210 1,050 10.44
Xolo 50 250 2.49
Total 2,011 10,055 100
(Source: Weekly Sales Survey on February 2014)
 26

Figure No 3.2 Sales of different brand mobile phones.

Sales of different brand mobile phones

Samsung Colors Micromax Sony Nokia Lenovo Lava Karbon Xolo

3%

10%

5% 28%
1%

17%

21%
6%
9%

(Source: Table No: 3.8)

The above table and figure show that in the recent month, 28% of Samsung mobile phone was
sold and 21% of Colors mobiles phones. This figure shows that Samsung is the leading in the
monthly sales data and colors is following the Samsung on the basis on the sales. Hence
Samsung is the market leader was as colors mobile phone is the market follower and the other
brands are the market audience in the mobile market of Nepal.
 27

3.2.3 Total Number of mobile outlets in Kathmandu valley (Active outlets and Grey selling
outlets)
Here actives outlets refer to that outlets which sale Samsung mobile phones also and Grey selling
outlets means those outlets which sale the unauthorized Samsung Mobile phone.

Table No: 3.9 Total numbers of mobile outlets (actives and grey selling outlets) in Kathmandu

Total Outlets Actives Outlets Grey selling outlets

620 304 73
(Source: Retailing Mapping Survey on January 2014 in Kathmandu)

Figure No: 3.3 Total Number of outlets (actives and grey selling outlets) in Kathmandu

Total Number of outlets (actives and grey selling

outlets) in Kathmandu

620

304

73

Total retail outlets Actives outlets Grey selling outlets

(Source: Table No: 3.9)

The above table and figure show that there are 620 mobile outlets in Kathmandu valley out of
which only 304 outlets actively sale the Samsung mobile phone. Among those active outlets of
Samsung mobile phone sellers 73 outlets sell the unauthorized Samsung mobile phones in the
market.

3.2.4 Capacity of Retailer influencing during the purchasing decision of Consumer

To analysis and present the finding that the capacity of the retailer in the process of the
purchasing decision process of the consumer. I had a short conversation with about 50 retailers.
 28

Table No: 3.10 Capacity of retailer during the purchasing of Keypad/ Touch mobile in
consumers purchasing decision.

Responds Numbers of retailers Percentage (%)

Yes 35 70
No 15 30
Total 50 100
(Market Survey 2014)

Figure No: 3.4 Capacity of retailer during the purchasing of Keypad/ Touch mobile in
consumers purchasing decision.

Percentage of Retailer Capacity in Influencing

consumers
Yes No

30%

70%

(Source: Table No 3.10)

The above table and figure show that they 70% retailers could influence the consumer during the
purchasing of mobile phone i.e. Keypad and Touch phone. They also said that they could
influence the consumers who come have fewer amounts to money or low budget to purchase
mobile.
 29

Table No: 3.11 Capacity of retailer during the purchasing of Smatphone in consumers
purchasing decision.

Responds Numbers of retailers Percentage (%)

Yes 5 10
No 45 90
Total 50 100
(Market Survey 2014)

Figure No: 3.5 Capacity of retailer during the purchasing of Smartphone mobile in consumers
decision.

Percentage of Retailer Capacity in Influencing

consumers
10% Yes No

90%

(Source: Table No: 3.11)

The above table and figure show that they have 10% capacity to influence the consumer while
purchasing the smartphone mobile. They said that the consumer who comes in search of
smartphone comes with full information and want the particular brand smartphone.

3.2.5 Mobile Phone in the Evoked Set of Consumer

To find out the evoked set of mobile phone brand in consumer. I just asked them the question-
While talking about the mobile phones, which are the brands that come in your mind? The
below Table and figure present the finding of the question.
 30

Table No: 3.12 Mobile phone in the evoked set of consumer.

Brands Percentage (%)

Samsung 33
Apple 25
Colors 7
Nokia 20
Others 15
Total 100
(Market Survey 2014)

Figure No: 3.5 Mobile phone in the evoked set of consumer.

Percentage of mobile brand in the evoked set of

consumer Samsung Apple Colors Nokia others

15%
33%

20%

7%
25%

(Source: Table No: 3.12)

The above table and figure show that 33% of consumer think about Samsung mobile Phone
while talking about phone even though Apple brand is expensive, it is also in the evoked set of
consumer about 25%. Hence, the brands that are in the evoked set of Nepali people are Samsung,
Apple, Colors and Nokia.

3.2.6 Total Number of different types of Mobile Phone used by consumer

To find out which types of phone the consumer use most, the following question was asked with
the options- Which types of mobile phone do you use?
 31

Table No: 3.13 Total numbers of different types of mobile phone use by consumer.

Types of Mobile Number Percentage (%)

Smartphone 59 59
Touch Phone 12 12
Keypad Phone 29 29
Total 100 100
(Source: Market survey 2014)

Figure No: 3.6 Total numbers of different types of mobile phone use by consumer.

Percentage of consumer with different types of

mobile.
SmartPhone Touch Phone Keypad Phone

29%

59%
12%

(Source: Table No: 3.13)

Above table and figure shows that 59% of consumer use smartphone where as 12% consumer
use touch phone. Keypad phone users are 29%.

3.2.7 Factors affecting during the purchase of mobile phone for consumer
There are different factors which affect the purchasing process of consumer while purchasing the
mobile phone. They are brand, price, features, and design. Below table and figure present the
finding.
 32

Table No: 3.14 Factors affecting purchasing process of consumer.

Factors Number Percentage (%)

Brand 23 23
Price 18 18
Feature 53 53
Design 6 6
Total 100 100
(Source: Market Survey 2014)

Figure No: 3.7 Factors affecting purchasing process of consumer.

Percentage of factors affecting purchasing process

of consumer
6%

23% Brand price Feature Desing

53% 18%

(Source: Table No: 3.14)

Above table and figure show that larger percentages of consumer s think that features of the
mobile phone affect in the purchasing process i.e. 53% and design is the factor that affects less
during the purchase of mobile phone. Hence brand and price also affect the purchasing process
of consumer i.e. 18% and 23% respectively.

3.2.8 Influencing factors during the purchasing of mobile phone

There are varies factors which influence the consumer while purchasing the mobile phone. They
are the income, Advertisement, Family members, friends etc.
 33

Table No: 3.15 Factors influencing consumer purchasing decision.

Factors Number Percentage (%)

Family 24 24
Friend 40 40
Income 18 18
Advertisement 18 18
Total 100 100
(Source: Market Survey 2014)

Figure No: 3.8 Factors influencing consumer purchasing decision.

Percentage of factors influencing consumer

decision process
Family Friends Income Advertisement

18%
24%

18%

40%

(Source: Table No: 3.15)

The above table and figure show that friends are the one who play great role in influencing the
purchasing process of the consumer i.e. 40% and Family comes in the second place around 24%.
Hence the income of the consumer as well as advertisement of the mobile phone also plays the
role in influencing in the purchasing process of the consumer.

3.2.9 Consumer awareness about the grey mobile

To know about the awareness of consumer about the grey mobile in the market. I had asked the
question- Do you know about grey mobile or unauthorized mobile phone. If Yes then how
 34

would you differentiate authorized and unauthorized mobile phone? The following table and
figure present the finding.

Table No: 3.16 Consumer awareness about the grey mobile.

Responses Number Percentage (%)

Yes 35 35
No 65 65
Total 100 100
(Source: Market Survey 2014)

Figure No: 3.9 Consumer awareness about the grey mobile.

Percentage of Consumer awareness towards grey

mobile
yes No

35%

65%

(Source: Table No: 3.16)

Above table and figure show that only 35% of the consumer know about the grey mobile and
65% are unaware of the grey mobile. Even though 35% consumers are aware of the grey mobile
only few percentages (10%) of consumers could difference them by looking to the hologram of
the authorized distributor.
 35

3.3 Major Finding

The major findings of my survey report of mobile market in Nepal are as following:

Samsung Mobile phone and Android operating system are the marketing leader in the
mobile phone market globally i.e. 32.1% and 81.9% respectively.
Mobile phone penetration in Nepal is about 74.33%.
The large number of Karbon model phone lies in low price level (less than Rs 5,000) and
large number of Samsung model lies in high price level (above Rs 30,000).
The authorized distributors of mobile phone in Nepal focus on the BTL strategies for
promoting their brands.
Samsung S dous 2 is competing with Colors Quad II and Huawei Ascend G 610.
Samsung Core is competing with LG G Pro Lite.
Samsung Grand 2 is competing with Sony Xperia C and Huawei Ascend G 700.
In Nepal, Samsung Mobile Phone has the huge market sale i.e. 28% and colors is in the
second position i.e. 21%.
There are around 620 mobile phone retail outlets in Kathmandu valley. Out of them 73
outlets sell grey mobile.
70% retailer could influence the consumers who want to buy keypad or touch mobile
where as only 10% retailer could influence those who want smartphone.
Samsung Phone has occupied the first position in the evoked set of consumer. Other
brands are Apple, Nokia, Colors.
59% of consumers use smartphone.
It is found that feature affect most while purchasing the mobile phone i.e. 53%.
It is found that friend plays major role during the purchase of mobile phone i.e. 40%.
35% of consumers are aware of grey mobile and only 10% could difference them from
the unauthorized mobile by looking hologram of the authorized distributor.
 36

CHAPTER IV: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

4.1 Summary & Conclusion.

With the development of technology in Nepal, the mobile market is also growing up. Around
74.33 % of total populations of Nepal are engage in the mobile phone services. There are varies
types of brand of mobile phone available in Nepalese market. Among them, the huge mobile
market share of Nepal is occupied by the Chinese and Indian brand. In present condition,
Consumers are attracted towards the android phone with low price with different types of
features in them. In Nepal, there are different types of authorized distributors for distributing
mobile phone in Nepalese market i.e. International marketing service is distributing Samsung
smartphone in the market.

In Nepal, Samsung smartphone is the leading brand in the mobile brand in Nepal and Colors is
the market follower where as other Indian and Chinese brands are the market audience in the
mobile market of Nepal. Samsung comes in the first position of the consumer evoked set and the
other brands are Apple, Colors, Nokia.

Consumer behavior towards the mobile market in Nepal is very positive and their wants and
demand are upgrading. Now a days large numbers of consumer are using smartphone and wants
a lot of feature in their phone which help them in doing their daily activities etc.

The main problem is the grey mobile in the Nepal mobile market. Huge amount of mobile phone
are imported to Nepal by unauthorized distributor or people in the Nepal Market. The authorized
distributors have used different types of strategies to overcome this problem. Nepalese
consumers are still a bit aware about the grey mobile and they couldnt difference the authorized
mobile with unauthorized mobile.
 37

4.2 Recommendations
In the views of the above facts, following suggestions are recommended:

The mobile phone distributors have to collaborate with the telecommunication operators
to provide different types of facilities and services to the end users.
To overcome the grey mobile, the authorized distributors have to target to the young age
consumers and conduct the following strategies like Retailer motivation programs, live
anti-gray programs.

Suggestion from the consumer as following:

The authorized distributors have to focus on quality service and customer relationship to
have the high profit.
They have to provide full information about the phone as well as answers to the questions
of the consumer in polite way.
There should be the exchange offer and low price of accessories.