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Sub-R1 000 smartphones from Kazam heading to SA

British smartphone manufacturer Kazam is looking to get a foothold in Africa with a plan to launch in South Africa and expand to the rest of the continent. Its local distribution partner

Kazam, which was founded in 2013 by two ex-HTC executives, Michael Coombes and James Atkins, and has won plaudits for its phones throughout Europe, where it says it ships and sells around 1.5 million handsets a month. It produces both Android and Windows phones in three main form factors from a sub-R1 000 compact handset to a R3 000 flagship.

Exclusive distribution rights for Kazam in southern Africa are held by Midrand importer Pursuit4, which previously specialised in supplying refurbished handsets for bulk orders to mobile networks and B2B clients. Pursuit4’s Ken Finneran says that he believes the brand has great potential in South Africa, competiting against the likes of Xiaomia and ZTE.

While Kazam phones are light on extra features and run stock Android, the current generation do all come with extras that have historically proven attractive to South African customers, including dual SIM slots and a three year extended warranty and 12 months accidental screen damage.

“We can also offer schools and businesses features like P4 mobile device management (MDM),” says Finneran, “Which parents can use to control their kids’ handsets too.”

Finneran also says that hid firm is being backed by Bidvest, which will underwrite credit terms for dealers up to 120 days.

While Pursuit4 has been selling Kazam handsets via Takelot for some time now, Finneran says that he’s not achieved the growth necessary and is currently in talks with the major networks and MVNOs to supply the three latest handsets, the 4.8inch Tornado 340, Trooper 451 – a mid-range phone with a 5inch screen – and the Trooper 540. The latter is an entry-level phone with a 4inch screen that should retail for around R800.

The firm has, however, had problems with marketing in Europe. Its last TV was banned for “objectifying women”. It featured a lady dressed in very little struggling to find “the world’s thinnest phone”. The negative publicity around the campaign caused the firm’s brand ambassador, Camilla Hansson – also Miss Sweden at the time – to quit.

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