Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme has sought Uttar Pradesh government’s approval to reopen its limited production lines at its Greater Noida plant.

This comes after the company resumed its sales of smartphones and accessories in the orange and green zones in the country. Along with this, they are also selling their products on all online channels including realme.com, Flipkart, and Amazon.

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“The brand has approached the state government to get necessary approvals for reopening limited production lines with measures to ensure the safety of employees,” Realme said in a statement.

The Indian government recently extended the lockdown till May 17 and allowed several businesses to restart their operations, with an aim to restart the economy while maintaining a lid over the spread of coronavirus.

Considering this in view, government laid out several guidelines under which it allowed reopening of standalone shops, neighbourhood shops and shops in residential complexes that deal with non-essential goods. However, shops at malls, markets and market complexes are still remain shut.

Under the same guidelines the government also distributed areas in red, orange and green zones, depending on the severity and number of coronavirus cases.

The company’s plant falls in the red zone.

Talking to PTI, Realme Vice President and India CEO Madhav Sheth said the company has stocks to sustain business for a few weeks, until the factory reopens.

“Our stocks are already in our own warehouse and with partners. We have submitted our request to state government and we expect we will be able to resume our factory lines soon to a limited level,” he added.

The company is positive to meet the current demand till their factory reopens.

“We have been receiving a massive amount of orders online since Sunday midnight and will be able to meet the current demand through our inventory stocks till factory reopens. We are working with distribution partners across India to fill the stocks at retail points. During lockdown period we have strengthened our micro distribution model and are very confident of ensuring supply to the retailers in the fast possible time,” Sheth said.

The company noted that Realme, along with its partners, will ensure strict social distancing precautions while operating and making sure that the orders are delivered safely to customers.

“Realme has also procured necessary permissions for the vehicles to pick up goods, and steps are taken to ensure proper supply to the customers,” it said.

Besides, the company’s service centres in green zones and orange zones are gradually starting operations in accordance with the respective state government advisory and guidelines.

Smartphone shipment in the country is expected to decline by 10 per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, even though the January-March quarter saw smartphone shipment growing at modest 4 per cent with over 31 million units, according to Counterpoint Research.

Xiaomi led the market with 30 per cent share of the smartphone shipment, followed by Vivo (17 per cent), Samsung (16 per cent), Realme (14 per cent) and Oppo (12 per cent) in the first quarter.

The research firm had said any signs of recovery are likely to start from the third quarter onwards.