Samsung Plans Aggressive Push to India Flat Panel TV Biz

Bangkok: Korean consumer electronics major Samsung said it plans to aggressively push its flat panel TV business in India, a segment which is expected to touch 50 lakh units in the current year. The company which is present in India, through its wholly owned subsidiary Samsung India Electronics, currently has a market share of around 30 per cent of the 38 lakh units of flat panel TVs in the country. "Of the 38 lakh units, we have a market share of 30 per cent. We definitely intend to grow faster than the industry this year," Samsung India AV Business Vice President Raj Kumar Rishi told reporters here at the Samsung South West Asia Forum 2012. The flat panel segment consists of LEDs, LCDs and Plasma TVs. In India Samsung sells around 40 models of flat panel TVs. Commenting on the market for Smart TVs in India, Rishi said the growth of the market would depend upon several factors like internet penetration and availability of applications. "The market for Smart TVs is currently just 3 per cent of the total flat panel sales in India. It is expected to grow to nearly 5 per cent in 2012. The growth will depend on internet penetration and availability of applications," Rishi said. The company’s new Smart TV range which is being introduced in India will cost between Rs 45 thousand and Rs 2.65 lakh. The company today announced tha launch of 18 new Smart Tv models in the Indian market. Samsung India, which sells various consumer durables including refrigerators, tablets, moblile phones, also said is aiming to grow two to three times more than the market in the compact camera segment in the current year. "The company is putting a fresh thrust in its Digital camera business. We are bringing in a lot of change in structure and set targets internally," Rishi said. "We have to grow two to three times more than the market, which is growing at single digits at the moment. We would like to focus on mid and high end products for the growth,” he added. The company at present sells nine models of compact cameras in India. Samsung India Country Head of Mobile and IT Ranjit Yadav said the company plans to sell 10 million units of Galaxy Note smartphones worldwide by the end of 2012 as compared to 2 million globally in 2011. In India, Yadav said the company sold over a lakh units of Galaxy Note in India in 2011.