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Samsung honcho Aditya Babbar: We are India’s No. 1 company

South Korean consumer electronics behemoth Samsung is India’s number one mobile phone company and one of the the country’s most trusted brand.

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At Samsung, consumer-centric innovations are at the heart of our business,” Aditya Babbar, general manager, Mobile Business, Samsung India, tells Sudhir Chowdhary in a recent interaction.

South Korean consumer electronics behemoth Samsung is India’s number one mobile phone company and one of the the country’s most trusted brand. “We are India’s number one company in premium, mid-segment and affordable segments. At Samsung, consumer-centric innovations are at the heart of our business,” Aditya Babbar, general manager, Mobile Business, Samsung India, tells Sudhir Chowdhary in a recent interaction. Excerpts:

Is Samsung still number one in the smartphone segment?

Yes, absolutely. Samsung is India’s number 1 mobile phone company and the country’s most trusted brand. 2017 was a record year for us. We consolidated our smartphone leadership across segments in India. We are India’s number one company in premium, mid-segment and affordable segments. Every third smartphone sold in India is a Galaxy J series smartphone. We had 42% value market share in the overall smartphone market in the country (January-November 2017, according to GfK). In volume terms, we had 37% market share, according to GfK. In the premium segment (30k+), we had 56% value and 59% volume market share, according to GfK (January-November 2017). Samsung’s market leadership in premium segment is on account of the hugely popular Galaxy S8, S8+ and the recently launched Galaxy Note 8. Galaxy S8 has broken all our previous sales record. We are looking to consolidate our leadership in a big way in 2018.

Tell us about the new Galaxy A8+ phone. What are the flagship like features that you have brought into the new device?

Users of Galaxy A devices have always perceived their phones as a lifestyle companion rather than just a device. Galaxy A8+ carries that legacy forward. It does not represent incremental changes, but a massive shift whether in terms of Samsung’s flagship design heritage or flagship experience with advanced camera and cutting edge features.
A8+ gets the best of Samsung’s technologyindustry-first features such as Infinity Display and wireless charging; Made in India, Bixby; Samsung’s hugely successful – Samsung Pay.

How are you planning to tackle the growing threat from Chinese vendors?

Our philosophy has been to focus on creating great devices and services that transform the lives of people. We believe in creating meaningful innovations. Our focus remains on creating superior hardware and software that make the lives of our consumers better. Our strategies are always aligned with our own business and growth objectives and we work on our sales and marketing programmes as per the market and customer demand.

For 2017 what was your volume and value market share in the premium segment?

In the premium segment (30k+), we had 56% value and 59% volume market share, according to GfK (January-November 2017). Samsung’s market leadership in premium segment is on account of the hugely popular Galaxy S8, S8+ and the recently launched Galaxy Note8. Galaxy S8 has broken all our previous sales record. I am sure Galaxy A8+ will give our premium segment market share a huge boost.

How important is the Indian market for Samsung?

India is an extremely important market for Samsung. We have been here for 22 years. We started in 1995 and have five R&D centres, two manufacturing centres and one design centre. We recently announced an investment of `4,915 crore in our Noida factory and we are doubling capacity, it shows we are bullish and are committed about India. We not only have the largest number of retail touch points in the country (150,000), we also have the largest number of service points (over 3,000) and 535 mobile service vans to reach every nook and corner of the country.

What are the factors driving smartphone sales for Samsung?

First is new technology. We always strive to bring the latest technology for our consumers. Second is innovation. All our smartphones come with Make for India innovations, which show that we listen to our consumers. Then there is the Samsung ecosystem. Today, consumers want to do a lot more with their devices and only Samsung can give them security features like Samsung Knox, Iris Scan; digital payment platform such as the revolutionary Samsung Pay; features like Social Camera. We continuously innovate for our consumers and this is what is driving our sales.

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First published on: 22-01-2018 at 04:26 IST
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