Samsung’s biggest store worldwide opens in the world’s second largest smartphone market

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has opened its biggest store worldwide in, what is considering to be the tech hub of India, Bengaluru city.
• The space measures around 33,000 feet which is the equivalent of 200 average parking spaces.
  
• The country’s pull factor consisting of demand, ‘Make in India’ and sheer potential are primary reasons why companies are looking to concentrate on India.

After opening its largest factory in India two months ago, Samsung has been on a roll positioning itself as the world’s second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones. After which, the South Korean tech giant has now opened it’s biggest mobile store worldwide in Bengaluru, India that measures around 33,000 square feet.

That’s six times bigger than the average basketball court and around half the size of the White House. Or, you could even think of it as 200 parking spaces, all in one spot.

It’s no secret that Samsung is positioning itself to fully capitalise on the growing consumer base in India. Where demand is saturating in the US and slowing down in China, India is still along the upward trajectory. In fact, it was just last year that sales in India overtook sales in the US, to position the country as the world’s second largest smartphone market.

The brand is also trying to keep ahead of Apple, one of its biggest competitors globally, who is yet to figure out how to get its flagship ‘Apple Stores’ in India.

India’s pull factor

What was originally a battle for market share in India by offering value-for-money devices is now switching gears to take in the entire life-cycle of the product into account, from inception to point-of-sale. And, it’s not surprising considering that the competition has become so intense that smartphone companies need to use any angle available to them to push forward.

After China, it’s India that has the potential for smartphone success stories. It’s also why localisation is a key parameter to succeed in India considering its diverse demographic and geographic specific requirements.

In order to facilitate that impetus, the government’s Make in India program offers a reduction in duties and numerous benefits for manufacturers who choose to make their phones locally.

That being said, it’s important to remember that currently, most of the phones that are in the market are ‘assembled’ in India rather than manufactured from scratch.

The issue for manufacturers is that the majority of consumers nowadays shy away from brand loyalty. The upgrade cycles and consistent new phone launches have consumers yearning for latest updates without necessarily ‘needing’ them. And, whichever brand is ahead of the curve or has first-mover advantage, is usually the brand that gains the most from a particular feature.

Samsung, for example, was the first brand to have dual aperture as a camera feature on the Samsung S9. It’s a feature that’s yet to appear on other phones. But, even then, the price point of that phone was so high that sales were slow. It may even be the worst-selling Galaxy S phone till date.

It just goes to show how price sensitive the market is, how the value-for-money concept holds true and how the superficial looks of the phone do matter. Samsung may have upgraded the hardware with the S9, but visually, the S9 only marginally differentiated itself from the S8.