Samsung gears up to fend off Chinese competition in India

“India being the second largest smartphone market and the fastest growing globally, we have extremely aggressive plans for the country,” Mohandeep Singh, SVP, Mobile Business, Samsung India, said. 

Samsung became the leader in the Indian flagship smartphone market, garnering 49.2 per cent share in the first quarter of 2018, the German research firm GfK revealed last week. In the full financial year (April 2017-March 2018), Samsung registered 55.2 per cent market share in the Rs 40,000 and above price segment, said GfK that reports final consumption of the devices and not only shipments. 

In March alone, the South Korean giant registered a massive 58 per cent market share in the flagship segment. But in the mid-range and budget segments, the Chinese brands seem to have outperformed Samsung. 

According to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) “Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker” report, Xiaomi maintained its lead in the Indian smartphone market with 30.3 per cent market share in the first quarter of 2018, while Samsung came second with 25.1 per cent share. 

Xiaomi maintained its lead in the market for the second quarter in a row, the report said. In an apparent move to counter the competitively-priced Chinese smartphone brands, Samsung this week launched four new smartphones in its Galaxy ‘A’ and ‘J’ series with ‘Infinity Display’ - a bezel-less screen for an immersive viewing experience - which are priced between Rs 13,990 and Rs 25,990. 

Samsung has five R&D centres in India -- two in Bengaluru and one each in Noida, New Delhi and Pune. Last year, the South Korean tech giant announced an investment of Rs 4,915 crore in India to boost the capacity of the company’s Noida plant. 

“India is a very important market for Samsung. We are heavily invested in this country - whether it is manufacturing or R&D,” he said.