Case: Lava Mobilephones: Strategies in a Competitive Environment (No. IIMR-C9-04/2018)

Abstract

The case presents the status of a mid-sized Indian mobile phone manufacturing company, LAVA Mobiles, in July 2017. Initially, the company entered into the trading business, importing mobiles from China and selling them in the Indian market. After a while, the founders realized that to create value, they needed to build a brand. This led to the establishment of LAVA International in 2009. LAVA has now grown to more than 15,000 employees. It is headquartered in Noida, India, and has operations in Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia, and Egypt. The Chinese mobile players have now entered the Indian market and taken away a large share of the pie. In this intense competitive environment, LAVA needs to find strategies of survival and growth.