Samsung India expects 40% growth in smartphone segment in Q4

Samsung India on Thursday said it expects to clock 40 per cent year-on-year growth in value terms in its smartphone business in December quarter on the back of an aggressive lineup of products and initiative to make devices more affordable.

Samsung, which has reclaimed the top spot in the Indian smartphone market from Xiaomi after two years, said the company has been bringing in devices straddling across price points to cater to different segments of the markets.

"We have had a slew of launches to make available a rich portfolio of devices during the festive season. We have launched 12 smartphones in the last 2-3 months straddling across premium phones like the Fold 2 to the M series, A series and F series," Samsung India Senior Vice President Asim Warsi told PTI.

The response has been tremendous and the company expects to see over 40 per cent growth in value terms in the fourth quarter, he added.

"In the past years, we have been leading the market in value terms, and we are confident of further consolidating our position," he said.

Apart from smartphones, the company has also bolstered its lineup of tablet PCs and smart wearables to woo customers. Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President (Mobile Business) at Samsung India said the company has focussed on ensuring that various channels, including offline retailers, can offer a safe purchase experience to consumers.

He noted that while the footfalls have reduced, the customers walking in are better informed about products and the time taken to close the sale is also lesser.

Singh pointed out that affordability programmes like Samsung Finance , Samsung Care, 'Reward Yourself' and 'Galaxy Forever' have also helped reach out to more customers.

"The average selling price (ASP) of smartphones has been growing, and same is the case with Samsung," he said adding that the ASP has grown from about ₹11,900 in 2019 to about ₹12,700 in the first half of 2020.

Last month, Samsung had said it expects its online business in India to grow 35 per cent in 2020 over the last year, driven by strong overall demand and success of its M series of devices. The company has been aggressively expanding its portfolio of devices in the online channels, including the recently launched F series with Flipkart.

According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung became a leading brand in the Indian smartphone market after two years with 32 per cent year-on-year growth.

It attributed the strong performance of the South Korean brand to multiple strategies, including effective supply chain and touching various price points through new launches. Samsung's aggressive push in online channels, with the highest ever online contribution within its portfolio, also helped it regain its number one spot, it had added.

As per the research firm, Samsung led the smartphone market with a 24 per cent share of the 53 million units in the September quarter, followed by Xiaomi (23 per cent), Vivo (16 per cent), Realme (15 per cent) and Oppo (10 per cent). Samsung led the overall market (smartphone and feature phone) as well with a 22 per cent share.