India going up: Implications of the growing middle-class for the 5 largest mobile manufactures

Abstract: India is today seeing a revolution in the socio-economic conditions, it has decreased the numbers of people below the poverty line and the mid-segment is estimated to increase massively the next two decades. The middle-class will stand for a major part of India's 6-8 percent annual growth and the consumer market will increase with approximately one trillion dollars of value by year 2025. The purpose of this thesis is to see which implications the increasing middle class will have for the five largest mobile manufactures up to date. The thesis is based on an inductive research method and with a qualitative approach. In brief, the author came to the conclusion that mobile manufactures needs to have a clear India strategy as this market will affect the global positioning for each manufacture. The author defines what the mid-segment requires from handsets manufactures and with a SWOT analysis defines what challenges and opportunities that the manufactures targeting mid-segment must face, this is symbolized with either taking the elevator up or down. The author also notices a deficient terminology which might be an obstacle in the discussion regarding mid-segment handsets.