Samsung expects monsoon to bring strong growth from rural area in 2nd half

Smartphone major Samsung expects normal monsoon will fuel high demand in rural areas and bring in strong business growth in the second half of this year, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

Samsung India Senior Vice President for Mobile Business Raju Pullan said that the company is not only seeing growth coming from the urban market but it is also coming from the tier 1, 2, and also rural markets.

"We are seeing very strong consumerism and very strong demand for consumption in the rural area. As IMD (India Meteorological Department) states that the monsoon in India will be as per expectation because of this we are expecting a very good second half as well.

"We are preparing for a very strong second half and (Galaxy) F54 5G is seeding to a very strong growth in the second half of this year," Pullan said.

He was speaking after the launch of the 10th 5G smartphone, Galaxy F54, which it will sell through Flipkart, the Samsung website, and at select retail stores at an introductory price of Rs 27,999.

The company launched 13 5G smartphones last year.

"In the Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 segment, we continue to be strong performers. This is one of the critical segments for Samsung because it helps consumers upgrade from 4G to 5G and also move up the ladder to aspirational pricing and aspirational products," Pullan said.

He also said that the company will launch more devices as part of its "5G first strategy in India" and the launch of Galaxy F54 5G smartphone will consolidate the company's leadership in the 5G segment.

According to market analysts, there has been a continuous decline in the smartphone market across the world, including India.

As per market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Indian smartphone shipments in the March 2023 quarter declined by 16 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 31 million, which was the lowest first-quarter shipment in four years.

Further, Pullan said with new launches and innovation in the devices, Samsung is confident that it will buck the industry trend, and its overall growth trajectory will be in the higher double digits.

According to IDC, Samsung led the smartphone market in the March 2023 quarter with a 20.1 per cent market share.