Samsung is aiming to cross Rs 10,000 crore in revenue from its TV business, driven by the premiumisation trend and new launches across UHD, QLED, and OLED categories, a senior executive said.
In 2024, the company aims to focus on growing its value market share, which will help it grow by “significant” double digits.
“In 2023 we had a 21 percent market share in volume terms and aim to increase that this year. In 2024, we are looking at achieving a milestone of Rs 10,000 crore in revenue in India. We have tailwinds to hit this figure,” Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Visual Display Business at Samsung India, told Moneycontrol in an interview.
“Some of the growth will come from volume, but largely, it will come from better average selling prices (ASPs). We are refreshing our UHD. We see a big potential to grow our value…there is a much larger potential in 2024,” he added.
The company, he said, has seen good growth in the January-March period of 2024 and expects the IPL and festive season in April to drive the growth further. “IPL is pushing sales, and April is growing strongly due to Ugadi and Gudi Padwa. There is a sudden uptick in sales for the premium segment. Those are harbingers of the fact that there is a definite acceleration in demand for premium.”
The executive said that Samsung is confident of a 2x jump in its TV sales in the super-premium category. “With AI, consumer interest in this category will be much heightened compared to the past. Premium will grow significantly faster than industry.”
The Korean company launched its ultra-premium Neo QLED 8K, Neo QLED 4K, and OLED TVs powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) on April 17. "Samsung is bringing the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) across product categories to improve consumers' lifestyles. That's why we have integrated AI into home entertainment," said J B Park, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia.
Singh said that Samsung's new portfolio of AI TVs will also help drive revenues and value market share in the country. “AI is most suitable for bringing differentiation in the premium and super premium segments.”
In 2023, the Indian TV market saw a correction, with sales declining six per cent year-over-year due to falling demand in the low-end segment and rising open cell costs. Last year also saw the departure of prominent brands OnePlus and Realme from the Indian market.
Singh believes that TV volumes will grow in single digits, driven by the mid to premium TV category. “While the volumes corrected and de-grew last year, all premium segments grew in the industry. Our ambition is to be ahead of the industry in volume terms.”
According to estimates of Counterpoint Research, a market tracking firm, the overall TV market is expected to grow by nine percent in 2024 as consumers upgrade their TVs and move to premium products with better features.
Analysts believe that the open cell price increase that started in 2022 will continue to rise, driving up average TV prices, which can dent demand.
Samsung said that it would have to react to the market, but it has decided to increase prices.
“The open cell prices will firm up as we go forward. We will have to see the impact on our pricing. We have no plans charted out, but we are aware of the price increase and will have to react accordingly.”
Samsung believes that online sales of premium smart TVs will also increase in 2024. “It will be a watershed moment, and more premium TVs will be sold online. A large portion of our Super Premium is sold offline, but the growth is also coming in online. All stakeholders need to work together to ensure that growth continues.”
He said the company launched its new QLED at a premium of 5-10 percent this year. “The technology itself adds to price increase, but as volumes develop, it can offset the inflationary pressure.”
The company is also betting on financing and affordability schemes to drive affordability and sales in the premium segment. “We are looking at Samsung Finance to become a big platform for our TV business. We have done a lot of groundwork already on that and expect it to take off,” Singh said.
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