South Korean electronics giant
Samsung feels the ongoing worries about inflation are unlikely to dent the mobile phones business in India, adding that it sees healthy double-digit growth in its revenues this year. The company has witnessed record pre-bookings by 50,000 customers for its newly-launched flip and fold mobile phone models costing between Rs 90,000 – Rs 1.5 lakh within 24 hours, Aditya Babbar, its head of product marketing, told PTI.
"All our internal estimates show that the market will grow at a healthy number and we will outpace at 2x," Babbar said, adding it expects the industry to grow in single digits, while it has set itself a double-digit growth target by value for 2022. In the premium category alone, it is looking at a 1.5-times growth in sales over the last year, Babbar said but declined to disclose the units it sold in 2021.
High inflation, coupled with other problems like a slowdown in rural demand reported by consumer goods companies and higher unemployment, has led to worries over the overall consumption story which drives the economy. Babbar said offering easy finance is one of the biggest strategies adopted by the brand to ensure that the aspirations of consumers are met.
He said tie-ups with non-bank lenders have made sure that the average sale price at outlets actually goes up as the financing leads many to buy more expensive phones. Asked about the repayment rates and the loan book stress generated because of the mobile phone sales, he said its record is the best in the industry.
The company has launched a total of 16 devices across various customer segments this year, making it the highest number of new introductions in a single year, he said. The newly-launched phones in the premium segment will be stocked in 10,000 stores and will be available at 12,000 points to aid the overall sales, Babbar said, adding that this is part of its focus to expand the offerings.
It is also keen to onboard users of rival brands on to its ecosystem, Babbar said, pointing out the fold and flip phone models where a pre-booking leads to heavy discounts on accessories like watches and buds. Babbar said the company first launched the flip and fold category in 2019, and is growing at 16-times in the category which is now becoming mainstream.
