Samsung Electronics says it has not been affected by the ongoing patents issue with Apple in the US. The company says it will be more consumer-focused.

The company had generated revenue of Rs 20,000 crore last year in India and expects these numbers to grow by 25-30 per cent this year. It has manufacturing facilities in Chennai and Noida. The Noida facility manufactures only smart phones of 12 different models including the latest Galaxy S III.

In an interview with Business Line , Ranjit Yadav, Country Head – Mobile and IT, shares more objectives of the company.

Do we see some changes in the Indian business because of Apple verdict?

India is not impacted and we are not visualising any further impact also. We are busy focusing on customers here and not worried about legal cases. We have a lot of consumer conversions happening as we go forward. Indian market is underserved from the IT as well as the mobile point of view. If you look at upgrades … it is underserved, so there are large opportunities for players like us. We believe customers in India are the same as anywhere in the world and therefore, it is a focused market for us. Whatever we bring globally will be brought to India as well.

Is Samsung focusing on premium products, especially with launches such as Galaxy Note 10.1 and Series 9 laptops?

Our approach is to give choice so we bring in a full range of products. To support the high-end products, we have set up a retail format so that customers can experience and then choose what they should buy. We focus on the customer journey and innovation. We are committed to bringing volumes and products to the masses. However, the customers’ journey comes first – by giving great experience and using it well. We have a huge range with different price points in each category and we always try to give extra within that range for better experience.

Are Indians spending on premium products?

In the world of notebooks and IT, as I said, India is still under-penetrated. We believe this segment will grow dramatically and that is why we are bringing in these products into India. As we see, more consumers are going for upgrades and that market is going up in price. I am less worried about price right now.

How about the rupee-dollar impact?

We are all impacted by the Rupee’s movement and if it continues, pricing would be affected.

Does that mean Samsung is increasing its products’ prices?

We are priced right by today’s standard. There is no immediate plan to increase the prices, but nobody can predict what happens to the Rupee and so forth.

Any festive offer?

Offers are always there. Right now, for example, we have the Onam offer, wherein people can win an Audi car. We will have something for Diwali and Christmas as well.

On cloud computing for Samsung’s IT business …

We are supporting the cloud journey of others in enterprise part, wherein we are bringing a lot of devices for pure device play. On consumers’ side, we are bringing in services such as ‘My Education’ that provides application for 10,000 free educational videos for students under Indian curriculum. Also, services such as ‘My Music’ to host value-added services through contents and applications.

> ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in

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