The festive season is in full swing and Samsung, the electronics giant, has a lot to offer after launching several products across categories, be it the Bespoke refrigerator, The Frame and QLED televisions or the Freestyle projector. We spoke to Mohandeep Singh, senior vice-president, consumer electronics, Samsung India, about what to expect this festive season.
We are already in a festive mood. How was the period of Onam in way of business for Samsung?
We recently celebrated Onam and results have started coming in and now more festivities are on the way. We had a fantastic Onam and grew by about 45 per cent this year against last year (in Kerala), and we expect that momentum will continue as we go deeper into the festive season. The growth story was largely led by premium products. For example, we saw a 2x growth in premium televisions, 3x growth in soundbars… as far as Onam period is concerned.
Consumers continue to give themselves better entertainment options at home; home improvement as a trend continues. There are more and more consumers who are going in for premium products, which offer a better experience. Our expectation is that we will continue to keep up the momentum with the upcoming festive period. We expect to deliver 45 per cent growth (for overall consumer electronics business) in the upcoming festive period, which is on the back of the kind of products that we have launched.
Mohandeep Singh, senior vice-president, consumer electronics, Samsung India
What are some of the products that have been well-received?
There are the new QLEDs, which has been received extremely well. Then there is The Frame. It has a matte finish, so when it is hung on the wall with a picture displayed, it becomes like a picture frame. Of course, it’s also a full-fledged television.
Then we launched a product called Freestyle, which is a mobility solution for entertainment. It’s a small projector that you can carry with you, allowing 100-inch screen output and it’s very light. We’ve also enhanced our soundbar range. Then there is the AI Ecobubble washing machine range.
Plus, during the festival season there are various offers to ensure consumer get fantastic value. To give you an example, we are offering a free Galaxy S22, which is our flagship mobile phone, with our Bespoke refrigerator that has just been launched or extended warranty on the televisions, various cashback and easy EMIs for the consumer.
At Samsung, we are also seeing this as a trend… while January was slightly different, but over the years, we are seeing that footfall in offline stores has developed very strongly and now I think footfall is in line with pre-Covid times. In most cases, even better than what it used to be prior to Covid.
So offline stores will be important to your growth story?
This year we’ve done a lot of things to enhance our retail experience along with new product launches. Our investments into the retail has gone up substantially when we compare it to last year, it’s almost 2x of what we did last year. We’ve trained a lot of our mom-and-pop stores, so more than 5,000 stores… we train the store owners to enable them to sell better during the festive season, and to sell in line with consumer trends, which is moving towards the premium. The training will allow them to tune their discussions with consumers and keep them prepared about various offers, cashbacks and EMI offers. Of course, we are also collaborating with other retailers. We are looking at 45 per cent growth overall and we expect that the premium segment will grow by almost 80 per cent.
Any purchase trend you can share?
During the pandemic, consumers ensured they have enough convenience at home. If a consumer had a single-door refrigerator, then he or she may have bought a larger-capacity refrigerator; the same can be seen with washing machines. With televisions we are seeing the trend of creating a home theater. The trend has continued to gain momentum. Consumers realise the value of having a premium product. Consumers are clearly rewarding themselves with better products.