Alcatel, Acer tie up with HMD for India play

Global mobile brands that had a lacklustre performance in the Indian market and withdrew a few years ago are making an aggressive comeback with homegrown licensee partners.

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA

Despite a slowdown in smartphone sales in the country, which grew by only 1 per cent in 2024 and fell by 9 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, French brand Alcatel and Taiwanese brand Acer are re-entering the market through licence agreements with Indian players.

They will be joining Finnish phone manufacturer HMD, which acquired the Nokia brand name from Microsoft but began selling under its brand in the second half of last year, albeit with a negligible share.