Samsung Aims to Secure 50% Stake in India's $1,000+ Smartphone Market by Year's End

24 Aug, 2023

Samsung Aims to Secure 50% Stake in India's $1,000+ Smartphone Market by Year's End

Samsung, the prominent South Korean technology conglomerate and a dominant player in India's smartphone market, is actively pursuing an expansion of its presence within the lucrative ultra-premium segment, where devices are priced at $1,000 (approximately Rs 80,000) and above. Currently, Samsung holds a considerable 40% market share in this category during the first half of the year (H1), with a fervent ambition to elevate this share to an impressive 50% by the close of December.

Aditya Babbar, the Senior Director of Mobile Business at Samsung India, expressed in an interview with Business Today, "Our global president recently articulated Samsung's objective of attaining a 50% market share in the $1,000 plus category in India. I'd like to reiterate our utmost confidence in achieving this goal, underscored by the robust pre-booking figures, especially for our foldable devices. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of securing a 50% market share in the $1,000 plus segment by the culmination of 2023."

The launch of the fifth-generation foldable smartphones, namely the Galaxy ZFold 5 and Galaxy ZFlip 5, has been pivotal in advancing Samsung towards this objective. Notably, Samsung garnered a substantial 150,000 pre-bookings for these cutting-edge foldable devices in India, spanning the period from July 27, 2023, to August 17, 2023.

An impressive fact that highlights the strong surge in demand for these premium and foldable smartphones is that the pre-bookings for the 'Made in India' Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5 were 1.5 times higher than the previous generation of foldable devices. This surge indicates a clear preference among consumers for such ultra-premium offerings. This trend is not only limited to metropolitan areas (tier 1 and 2 cities) which demonstrated a 1.4 times growth compared to the previous year but also extends to tier 3 and 4 towns, mirroring the same pace of growth.

In order to actualize this ambitious goal and establish foldables as a mainstream choice, Samsung made strategic enhancements to its distribution network. The number of stores retailing Samsung foldables in India increased significantly, rising from 6,000 to an impressive 10,000 stores, creating a wider availability of these cutting-edge devices.

In line with its commitment to making these ultra-premium smartphones accessible to a broader audience, Samsung ventured into custom financing solutions. Aditya Babbar elaborated, "As we delved into making our devices more affordable, we identified a genuine need among consumers. Previously, individuals purchasing foldable phones could either trade in their existing devices, opt for cashbacks, or choose easy monthly installments. However, our interactions with customers revealed a desire for more flexible options, such as trading in their old phones while opting for EMIs. This prompted us to craft tailored affordability solutions, incorporating combinations like cashback plus upgrade, cashback plus EMI, and upgrades plus EMI." This personalized approach empowers individuals aspiring to own devices like the Z Flip 5 to commit to a manageable Rs 4,000 per month over a span of 24 months. Similarly, the Z Fold 5 becomes attainable at Rs 6,459 per month across 24 installments. When complemented with cashback and trade-ins, the overall cost could potentially be further reduced, making these devices even more accessible.

Given the staggering response from over 150,000 consumers who pre-booked the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5, both priced at Rs 99,999 and Rs 1,54,999 respectively, Samsung is projecting that foldable devices alone will contribute over 30% to its premium segment revenue this year. This underscores the growing acceptance and demand for innovative foldable technology within the premium smartphone market.