The Hindu : Business : Samsung to step up colour television sales

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006

Business

Business

Samsung to step up colour television sales

Special Correspondent

Aims to focus on high end products, plans to pump in more money in R&D

— Photo: Anu Pushkarna

ADVANCED RANGE: Pradeep Tognatta (left), Director, Sales, Samsung India, and Ravindre Zutshi, Deputy Managing Director, at the launch of new advanced LCD range in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Samsung India is eying a 20 per cent growth in its colour television sales at 1.8 million units in 2006. The company turns its focus on high-end products such as flat screen, plasma and LCD TV sets to capture a higher market share.

While the company sold 1.5 million colour TV sets last year and planned to sell 1.8 million sets this year, the focus would now be on flat TVs with their sales registering a 100 per cent in 2005, Samsung India Deputy Managing Director Ravinder Zutshi said here on Tuesday.

Launching six flat panel television models, the company said the company was planning to sell one-lakh units of plasma and LCD sets in 2006.

The latest offerings range from 20-inch screen to 46-inch screen and carry price tags varying between Rs. 44,990 and Rs. 3,99,000.

Though the company was expecting flat panel sets to contribute about five per cent to total sales of television, it was confident that it would be able to increase its share in this segment from 33 per cent to 50 per cent.

In flat TVs, the company planned to increase its market share to 30 per cent this year from 22.5 per cent last year, Mr. Zutshi said. He said the company sold 1.2 million flat TV sets in 2005 and would begin production of slim fit TV sets at the Noida facility by the end of February.

The company, which invested $12.5 million in research and development last year, plans to pump in more money this year. It would expand its brand shop network by 30 per cent this year.

Samsung was also aiming to raise its market share to 20 per cent in refrigerators, 26 per cent in microwave ovens and 28 per cent in air conditioners by the end of 2006, he said.

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