Samsung Electronics has plans to build four more state-of-the-art experience centers in India to showcase its end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, currently planned in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. IoT allows people to better connect and retrieve valuable data from their devices. Samsung said the new experience centers will familiarize consumers with smart solutions – especially for smarter homes, but also for businesses – and are expected to increase the company's sales.
The company opened its first mobile experience center for the Indian market in Bengaluru last year. The 33,000 square foot store at the Opera House (a unique, self-contained hall used throughout the British period to stage shows) is currently Samsung's largest mobile experience center.
The Opera House showcases all of Samsung's IoT-enabled products, including smartphones and wearables. Customers can enjoy hands-on experiences testing the company's virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) products. Customers can also pre-book the Opera House's home theater to watch films.
“We will launch four more such centers in other metro cities,” said Raju Pullan, senior vice president, consumer electronics business, Samsung India. The timeline for these new centers has not yet been released. However, the company says it will eventually add similar “experience zones” to its branded stores.
“Samsung Bixby is the program we are investing in in India,” explained Pullan. Bigby is the company's virtual assistant. “Investments in Bixby were not just limited to cell phones or television, but also to make, for example, refrigerators smarter. Just like the Family Hub (for) the refrigerator, the microwave and the washing device can also be connected to a room.”
Samsung's Family Hub refrigerators allow users to answer calls or access third-party apps from a Galaxy smartphone. These smart refrigerators can also suggest nearby restaurants, share notes, photographs, videos and music.
From smart refrigerators to smart TVs
In addition to smart appliances, Samsung says it is expanding its flat-screen TV business in India by unveiling a new range of premium TVs.
Samsung and other consumer electronics suppliers predict a substantial increase in television sales due to the growth of the middle class and interesting television programs (such as Netflix, Apple and Sky). With over a billion customers in India, recent reports suggest that the flat-screen TV market is worth over $3 billion.
TV sales will also gain momentum during the upcoming holiday season, when retailers typically offer deep discounts. According to Raju Pullan, senior vice president at Samsung, the company's strategic goal is to reach 34% market share in November. Pullan estimates Samsung's predominant market share to be around 30%. Samsung currently holds the top spot in the country's TV market.
New investments
Recently, Samsung's vice president, Lee Jae-Yong, visited India and is expected to commit to new investment plans for business development in the country — according to the Korean news agency Yonhap.
“The South Korean technology giant will be able to make more investments to increase its presence in the world’s second largest smartphone market,” said Yonhap. Samsung is one of the key suppliers to the country's largest telecom operator Reliance Jio and is expected to soon join the 5G business.
Two of Samsung's main rivals, Vivo and Oppo, have already made massive investments to increase their mobile production in the country. The government also reduced the corporate tax rate by almost 10 percentage points to 25.17 percent. They also proposed a lower rate of 17.01 percent for new manufacturers, in an attempt to sustain the pace of economic growth from the lowest level in the last six years. Such incentives are expected to revitalize the economy and increase employment.
Samsung is currently the second largest smartphone seller in India. According to Counterpoint Research, the Korean company's smartphone shipments grew from 20 percent from October to December 2018 to 25 percent between April and June 2019. During the holidays, Samsung expects to record a business of around Rs 3,000 crore from the business of over 20 lakh mobile phones online.
The Indian electronics industry is progressing through an interesting phase due to innovative changes in technology, launch of innovative products (like IoT and 5G) and the trials of global competition. This means that manufacturers will have to constantly work on advancing their products to continue to be successful.
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