South Korean handset maker Samsung is looking to ramp up its India presence with increased manufacturing capacity, larger retail reach and 40-45 new models this year.

The handset maker is targeting to increase its market share to around 32 per cent in India. The company now has 22 per cent share according to independent market research, which puts it at the second spot after Nokia.

Mr Ranjit Yadav, Country Head, Mobile and IT Business, Samsung Electronics, told Business Line , “We entered the market with about 10 per cent market share last year and we ended the year at 22 per cent in terms of value. We are looking at a similar growth this year aided by our strategy to give consumers a choice in terms of new innovative products.”

Distribution channel

The company is looking to ramp up its distribution channel to meet the growing demand by increasing the availability of Samsung phones in 30,000-40,000 new stores. “We are committed to be at an arm's length from people who want to buy a phone. Samsung phones are currently available in 70,000 stores in the country which we plan to grow to 1,20,000 this year,” Mr Yadav said.

On Samsung's strategy on the choice of operating system, Mr Yadav said the company will be following an open standards policy with phones available on every platform including its own Bada and Google's Android.

“We don't want to tie down the consumers to one view of the future. We give them choice of Android, Bada, Windows 6.5. We can potentially bring Windows 7 as and when it happens. This has worked well for us,” he said. In comparison, other global brands such as Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia have stuck to one platform until now. Mr Yadav said that having an open system allows consumers to access a wide range of applications and services. “We want to take smart phones to the masses whether it is on Bada or an open platform like Java. We will offer relevant applications on an open system.”

B2B apps

Samsung is also going aggressive on B2B applications on convergence devices with a target of growing its revenues from $38 million last year to $100 million this year. “We have merged our B2B services for IT and mobile devices. The line between convergent devices like mobile phones, net books, laptops is blurring. We have partnered with a number of system integrators and business solutions providers for growing this segment,” Mr Yadav said.

The handset maker is planning to enhance its manufacturing capacity at the Noida factory. “We are committed to manufacturing phones in India. Currently, we are producing more than a million units a month and our intent is to enhance the capabilities to address our entire demand from the India market,” Mr Yadav said.

>tkt@thehindu.co.in

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