NEW DELHI: Call it the pandemic effect, but bumper sales of laptops and notebooks in the lockdown period has prompted Korean giant Samsung to re- enter the segment after a period of nearly nine years.
The company, which is India’s top consumer electronics and durables seller, had been feeling the absence of laptops where sales had skyrocketed on the back of work- and educate-from-home trends that saw a fresh surge in the demand for computing devices.
Samsung, which will be importing the devices from Vietnam in the first phase, will have to compete with top makers such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Asus.
Many of the existing players are not only many times stronger in the Indian laptop market, but are also making some of the devices locally, which gives them an edge in pricing.
Samsung, however, is confident that it will manage to get a nearly 10% market share in the category which is expected to see sales of around 12.1 million units this year, Sandeep Poswal, the head of the company’s new computing business told TOI.
Poswal said that Samsung is bringing in devices with an eye on both personal and enterprise segments, as it expects the demand momentum to continue even as offices, schools and establishments gradually open up.
“We have carefully chosen the devices for India, and these will be some of the most sophisticated products that we will be offering here. We are confident that the demand momentum will continue to be healthy.”
The entry-level ‘Galaxy Book Go’ will come for Rs 40,000, while the top-end Book2 will cost Rs 1.16 lakh.
Samsung is banking on the “eco-system effect” to generate demand for its notebooks, as it feels that those using its smartphones, watches, and earbuds would find it convenient to navigate and connect through them better.
Poswal said while the company remains confident about prospects of the Indian notebook market, there are no confirmed plans as of yet about local manufacturing.
As per numbers released by IDC, the laptop market in India has been on a roll and has nearly doubled in value from $4.9 billion in 2019 to $9.2 billion last year. It is expected to touch $9.5 billion this year.
In terms of volumes, the market has grown from 7.4 million units in 2019, to 11.6 million units last year, with a forecast of reaching 12.3 million units this year.
Samsung currently does not have any plans for launching desktops in India, and its focus will remain on laptops.
Poswal said that heavy digitalisation across the country post the pandemic will see demand for devices remain strong in the small- and medium-business segments even as the effect of corona wanes down.
Samsung to invest Rs 1,588 crore for a compressor plant at Sriperumbudur
Samsung will invest Rs 1,588 crore to set up a new compressor manufacturing plant at its facility at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
The new facility will spread over 22 acres and have a capacity to roll out 8 million compressor units annually, which will be further expanded in the future.
Compressors produced at the plant will be used for refrigerators that Samsung manufactures and sells in India, apart from being present on export models.
The company on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government for the new plant, expanding and strengthening the component ecosystem in the state.
