Samsung may be staring at complete decimation in the Chinese smartphone market, but the company is doing reasonably well in India. After briefly losing the momentum to Xiaomi for a few quarters, the company fought back hard with the refreshed Galaxy J series models to regain some of the lost market and mindshare in Q2 this year.
Though Samsung has addressed concerns about its budget segment devices to an extent, the company’s midrange smartphones still continue to struggle against the better-specced offerings from Chinese brands. Samsung is aware of the problem and is planning to change the situation soon by launching more compelling midrange options in the next quarter (October – December).
During an interaction with the press after the Galaxy Note 9 launch event in India, DJ Koh, CEO of Samsung’s Mobile Division, said, “Since February this year, I have changed my strategy for the Indian market as the competition got tough and terrain harsh. We dominated in some areas while struggle in some during the course. You will now see devices coming from us in the mid-segment space with flagship features and functionalities that will delight our customers in India.”
Plans to launch smart devices as well
Interestingly, Koh also spoke about launching a wide range of smart devices in the Indian market. He said, “I am building a complete ecosystem of smart devices for the millennials in India. We are not concerned about the sales numbers but focus on creating a trust bond with our customers and partners in the country where we are the leader for years.”
To what extent Koh’s strategy and confidence materialize into sought-after products will be revealed in a couple of months. For now, it is clear Samsung India has aggressive plans for the last quarter of this year. Even the Galaxy Note 9's pricing is the same as the Galaxy Note 8's for the base model in the country, helped partly by the fact that Samsung assembles smartphones locally in India.
