Samsung eyes double digit growth from TVs in festive season

"Smart TV growth has been significant in India and this growth I will attribute to very good content and Internet speed going up," Raju Pullan, Senior Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India, told IANS in an interview.

"Share of smart TV category in the overall TV market in the country has gone up to 25 percent till July this year. We have grown by over 40 percent," Pullan added.

Samsung said it has been the No.1 player in the Indian TV market for the past 13 years. But the company is now facing competition from Chinese players like Xiaomi and Lenovo-owned Motorola. Moreover, OnePlus is also eying a pie of the Indian TV market with the launch of its first TV on September 26.

"In India, there is place for everybody," Pullan said, in response to a question on the competition it faces from the Chinese players.

To drive the sales of its TVs during the festive season, Samsung earlier this month announced 25 percent instant discount on products such as QLED TVs and 4K UHD TVs. Consumers will also be able to avail up to 15 percent additional cashback with Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, RBL Bank and ICICI Bank debit and credit cards.

During the offer period, valid till October 30, consumers purchasing select models of Samsung QLED TVs will get assured gifts such as Galaxy S10 smartphone worth Rs 61,900 and Galaxy A50 worth Rs 21,490.

"We are seeing very strong growth in the rural market as well. Our strategy during this festival season is to disrupt the QLED market segment," Pullan told IANS.

With the purchase of select 4K UHD TVs, consumers will get complimentary gifts such as Galaxy M30 worth Rs 17,990 and Google Home Mini worth Rs 4,999, the company said.

"We are making very strong retail investments so that we are able to upsize the Indian consumers, especially in the 55-inch and above segment," Pullan said.

"We have increased retail investment by about 25 percent and increased digital marketing investment by about 42 percent over last year," he added.

"Our current market share in the overall Indian TV market is 30.5 percent and our target is to capture 34 percent share by the end of this year. In the QLED segment, our target is to capture 60 percent market share this year," Pullan said.