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— Bijoy Ghosh

Mr R. Zutshi, Deputy Managing Director, Samsung India, at the launch of the new range of TVs in Chennai on Thursday.

Our Bureau

Chennai, April 24 With the demand for flat-panel TVs in India expected to more than double to nine lakh units in 2008 from four lakh last year, Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd is betting big on its FPD (flat-panel display TV) series. Currently, a leader in the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) category with 42 per cent market share (1.68 lakh units), Samsung targets to sell at least 4.05 lakh units of FPD TVs this calendar year.

“We expect to grow 140 per cent over last year to garner at least 45 per cent market share this year,” said Mr Ravinder Zutshi, Deputy Managing Director of Samsung India.

Unveiling a new range of HD (high definition) LCD and Plasma TVs here, he said with the launch of the new range, Samsung is looking at owning the Full HD platform in the Indian market. “We expect the Full HD flat panel TV range to contribute over 20 per cent of our flat panel TV volumes.”

The HD TV range (both in LCD and Plasma technologies) flaunts smooth finish infused with a hint of a translucent colour, which Mr Zutshi said is a patented design. He also claimed that apart from improved contrast ratio, the new technology would further reduce glare in difficult lighting conditions.

While globally FP TVs form 75 per cent of the total TV market, in India this category contributes only 7 per cent of the TV market, which means there is room for growth for this category.

To cash in on this, Samsung has drawn a multi-pronged strategy. Apart from expanding its reach through more number of multi-brand outlets, it plans to take the total number of brand stores to 200 from the present 115 by the end of this year. “We are also focusing on tapping large format retail stores,” he said. The company has increased the number of its branch offices in the country to 47 so far this year from 20 in 2007. “As we see a remarkable growth in non-metro cities too,” Samsung is now keen on stepping into tier-II and tier-III cities.

It will also strengthen its product line-up further with more models “by timely delivery of technology”, Mr Zutshi noted. Samsung, with 1.5 million units sold last year, has a 21.4 per cent share of the flat-screen TV market (conventional cathode ray tube TVs) in the country. For the current year, it hopes to sell 2.1 million units and garner 25 per cent market share. However, according to Mr Zutshi, its FPD TVs will drive the company’s overall brand image in the days to come.

More Stories on : New Products & Services | Television Sets

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