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New Delhi. Samsung is once again losing its grip on the Indian smartphone market. The June quarter report has revealed that the Korean smartphone company Samsung has not only registered a decline in its sales volume in India but has also registered a significant drop in market share. Samsung’s market share in the Indian smartphone market has reached its lowest level in 10 years. On the other hand, it is facing tough competition from Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Vivo.
According to a Money Control report, Samsung’s phone sales are being affected due to its low presence in the handset market below Rs 10,000, poor relations with offline retailers and increasing competition in the premium segment. Samsung still dominates the premium smartphone segment, while Xiaomi and Vivo dominate the low-cost smartphone segment.
Why is Samsung lagging behind in the smartphone market?
Samsung became the largest smartphone selling brand in 2023 by overtaking Xiaomi in the last quarter of 2022. However, Samsung could not maintain this lead for long in front of Chinese companies. Samsung’s sales in the offline market were badly affected due to the availability of smartphones at affordable prices online. Due to more offers and discounts available on online platforms, people’s attraction towards offline retail stores has decreased. Apart from this, due to low margins on Samsung smartphones, retailers are not taking much interest in selling cheap Samsung phones.
The company is not interested in making budget handsets
Samsung’s lack of presence in the budget handset segment below Rs 10,000 has further impacted its sales. Samsung’s portfolio in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment has a mere 6 per cent share, while Xiaomi has three times more market share with 18 per cent. This huge gap is the reason for Samsung’s volume decline.
Similarly, Samsung’s M and F series in the sub-Rs 30,000 segment have also performed poorly, leading to a significant increase in inventory. Samsung has lost 30 senior executives in retail, marketing and business development roles since the beginning of the year, many of whom have moved to its main rival Xiaomi.
Samsung is facing challenges with offline retailers over issues such as different pricing between online and large-format stores, lower margins than Chinese competitors, and uncertainty in stock availability of popular models. These issues have resulted in a build-up of inventory just ahead of the upcoming festive season.
Tag: Smartphone, Xiaomi Smartphones
first published : August 26, 2024, 3:01 pm IST
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