T2 towns drive demand for smart TVs in Tamil Nadu

And Tier 2 cities account for about 25 to 30 per cent of the overall sales of smart TVs in the premium category in the state. 

The company which claims to have a leadership position in India’s TV market, maintained over the last 12 years, with almost 30 per cent market share this year, is banking on cutting edge innovation in the premium category of TVs to chart its forward growth.

Speaking about the demand for such products, Piyush Kunnapallil, GM, Samsung India, says, “The growth in the smart TV segment is primarily being driven by three factors – rise in the income levels of Indians across the board; an explosion of rich, high-quality content on OTT platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime; and thirdly a marked improvement in the retail experience offered to customers in the country. Together, these factors are causing ripples in the industry which is prompting innovation on all fronts from TV makers.” TVs today are categorised in three brackets – 24 to under 32-inch, a segment that is seeing de-growth; 32inch and above – which is seeing single digit growth and 40-inch and above, which is the highest of the lot with double digit growth. 

The Frame being retailed in two versions, 55-inch and 65-inch, priced at Rs 2.74 lakh and Rs 3.99 lakh. Piyush explains, “Previously in the 55-inch plus category, we had close to 30-35 per cent share. Our objective is to have a 40 per cent share in this segment, by Q4, 2017, which we are confident of achieving.” 

He adds, “We are seeing a lot of activity in Tamil Nadu with respect to adoption of TVs in the premium category, moving on from the economy models. Close to 54 per cent of Samsung’s market here is dominated by sales in the 40inch plus category, whereas the national share in premium smart TVs is only 4045 per cent, which is a big difference.”

“Having said that, the mass market economy category products will still be an area of focus for the company. Tier 2 cities like Cuddalore, Virudhunagar and Vellore are cities where close to 30 per cent of the premium smart TV market is concentrated,” he sums up.