MegaFon resuming telephone sales under own brand

MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) - Megafon has developed a line of modern push-button phones under its own Fontel brand, with sales of the first model having begun in the operator's online store, followed by a roll-out in retail stores due in February, the company said in a statement.

Revo Charge, a subsidiary of MegaFon, in which the operator consolidated a 100% stake in early December 2022, is leading implementation, development and delivery of the project. A total of 8 models of phones under the Fontel brand will be put on sale in 2023. The devices will range from 590 rubles to 2,990 rubles in price.

Megafon expects that by the end of 2023, up to 50% of its retail sales of handsets will be Fontel devices. The company is considering the possibility of sales in other major retail chains in Russia and CIS countries as well, Sales Director David Borzilov said.

The share of Fontel handsets in Megafon's network has not changed significantly in recent years and stands at about 15-17%. Analysts noted the popularity of such devices in Russia earlier: thus, according to the GS Group analytical center, in H1 2022, imports of such devices increased by 21% - up to 5.1 million units. Analysts expects that deliveries of push-button phones to Russia in 2025 will remain higher than 5 million units per year.

"Megafon has already had experience in selling phones under its own brand: they began in late 2008, with China's Huawei as the manufacturer. Around the same period, the operator's main competitors, VimpelCom and MTS, also began selling branded handsets.