Quantum is a brand of the Brazilian company Positivo Tecnología. Since mid-March, the Forgacs plant, located in the industrial center of Río Grande, has produced 500 units a day of two models -Yolo and UP 32, both low-end. The expectation of Mirgor and Positivo is to reach a total sale of 150,000 cell phones this year, and by 2023, half a million devices. To achieve these goals, the Q20 model will be added to the two available equipment in August, which will begin to be sold for Mother's Day in October, and there will be new launches from the second quarter of 2022.
In dialogue with Convergencia, Ariel Elizalde, Country Manager of Positivo Tecnología, announced that a second production line is planned for before year-end, with new personnel. “We are going to need 1,000 units to be produced per day”, he explained. In the production line that is currently in operation, 30 people work.
Quantum models are low-end: Yolo sells for US$10,999 -it is a 3G device, for users who usually access the Internet via Wi-fi- and the UP 32, at US$ 13,499 -it is 4G, with Octa-core processor and 8 megapixel front panel camera. Elizalde stated that the objective is to lead in the low-end segment, which today constitutes 15% of the local market, with a focus on young people (the so-called millennials and centennials) and over 50 years of age.
This focus on low-end allows Quantum's production in southern Argentina to coexist with Mirgor's other smartphone production lines, aimed at higher market segments. It shoud be recalled that Mirgor agreed to the manufacture of LG and Samsung in October 2020, when it acquired Brightstar: in the case of LG, it will continue until the end of the year, after the abandonment of the production of smartphones by the Korean company.
The agreement between Mirgor and Positivo includes the complete integration between manufacturing in Tierra del Fuego and the point of sale, that is, manufacturing, distribution and marketing. Ignacio Cocco, Sales Director of Mirgor Regional, told Convergencia that they aim to reach 2,500 partners, including retail, Diggit's own store and Mercado Libre. As for local mobile operators, they are now working on a launch plan for the third quarter with Telecom and Telefónica; and they are trying to close an agreement with Claro.