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SSK and Link were to act as the regional
distributors for the Western and Eastern region of the country
respectively. "We have initiated a market-mapping exercise to
get into our fold distributors who have relevant knowledge of
the market, credibility, a good distribution network and will
therefore contribute in strengthening Samsung's reach in the
market,"10 said Dutt.
According to him, the new distribution strategy would take its
penetration level in the market from the current 55 percent to
85 percent by the end of the year. |
On the retail front, it was taking initiatives to
increase the number of retailers enrolled as Samsung Mobile Privilege
Partners (SMPPs) from around 100 in 2007 to around 400 by the end of the
year. According to Dutt, many single and multi-brand retailers had shown
interest in becoming an SMPP.
In the same month, the company launched five new mobile phone models and
said that it would launch another 13 by the middle of the year. The
models that were launched included multimedia phones, phones for
corporate customers, and a comparatively lower priced model aimed at a
bigger chunk of the market.
The company said that as of early 2008, its mobile phones were priced
between Rs. 1,700 and Rs. 28,000, but that the company would launch more
expensive mobile phones in the future.11
The company also announced its new positioning with the new pay-off line
'Next is What?' and that it had roped in a leading actor of the Indian
film industry Aamir Khan (Aamir) as its brand ambassador. Aamir would
also feature in its new ads.
Announcing the major celebrity endorsement for the brand, HB Lee,
president and CEO, Samsung (South-West Asia), said, "The Samsung brand
stands for qualities of innovation, change, discovery, self-expression,
and excellence in performance. And these very same qualities are
epitomized by Aamir Khan, whose quality and depth of work as well as
versatility as an actor, have made him a much loved and respected actor
in India today. We are indeed very proud and privileged to have him as
our brand ambassador."12
With Aamir's endorsement of Samsung, the fight for the mobile phone
market had also become a four-way battle with other leading actors
endorsing the rival brands - Shah Rukh Khan endorsing Nokia, Abhishek
Bachchan endorsing Motorola, and, Hrithik Roshan endorsing Sony
Ericsson.13
According to Samsung, the mobile phone market in India would be 100
million units in 2008.14 With
all these new initiatives, Samsung was confident of achieving its
objective of cornering a 15 percent market share in the country.
The company said that it had the necessary infrastructure to ramp up its
production capacity at its manufacturing unit at Noida from the current
6 million units per annum, depending on the demand.15 |
10] Writankar Mukherjee, "Samsung Inks Retail Pacts
to Double Mobile Market Share," www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, March 6, 2008.
11] Piyush Joshi, "Aamir Khan Signs on as Samsung
Brand Ambassador," www.newslocale.org, March 14, 2008.
12] "Samsung Telecommunication Appoints Aamir as
its Brand Ambassador," www.indiafm.com, March 13, 2008.
13] "Aamir Khan to Endorse Samsung Mobile Phones,"
www.techwhack.com, March 12, 2007.
14] "Samsung Dials Nokia Distributors to Grab
Market Share," www.hindu.com, March 6, 2008.
15] "Samsung Unveils 5 Mobile Models, Ropes in
Aamir Khan," www.sify.com, March 13, 2008. |
