Samsung eyes record foldable sales in India with tapping new & existing users

Seoul, July 28 (IANS) The new ‘Make in India’ Samsung foldables, to be churned out from its Noida factory in Uttar Pradesh, will not only woo existing users to upgrade to the fifth generation of devices but also tap new and aspirational users join the super-premium ecosystem via its EMI route and unique offers, top Samsung India executives said here on Friday.

Raju Pullan, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India, told IANS that with Samsung Finance+ and cash-back schemes, the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5 are set to see major traction among aspirational Indians who seek premium smartphone experiences.

“Not just metros but small-town India have also joined the foldable bandwagon as we are providing people with the easiest and seamless EMI route. We have observed that 'Bharat' is equally interested in purchasing super-premium smartphones and Samsung is ready to help people residing in smaller towns and cities own those premium life experiences,” Pullan emphasised.

In its fifth year now, Samsung Finance+ has reached 70,000 stores in the country, driving a smartphone business worth over $1 billion. While the all-new Galaxy Z Flip5 (8GB+256GB) will be available for Rs 99,999 and 8GB+512GB variant for Rs 109,999, Galaxy Z Fold5 (12GB+256GB) will cost Rs 154,999, the 12GB+512GB model will come for Rs 164,999 and the 12GB+1TB variant will be available for Rs 184,999.

According to the company, customers pre-booking and buying the smartphones in India between July 27 and August 17 will get offers up to Rs 20,000 on Z Flip5 and Rs 23,000 on Z Fold5.

“Indian users can actually own Z Fold5 (12+512GB) for Rs 141,999 with bank cash-back up to Rs 8,000 and Samsung upgrade bonus up to Rs 5,000, along with storage benefit worth Rs 10,000. Similarly, they can buy Z Flip5 (8GB+256GB) for just Rs 79,999 with Rs 8,000 cash-back and Rs 12,000 upgrade bonus,” Aditya Babbar, Senior Director, Mobile Business, Samsung India, told IANS.

According to Babbar, the Samsung upgrade bonus will work with any device, even if it is worth just Rs 5,000.

“Foldable as a category has cemented its place among Indians who want super-premium experiences with their devices, be it productivity, gaming or streaming. The fifth generation of foldables is only going to elevate their work-life balance to a whole new level,” Babbar noted.

As per CyberMedia Research (CMR), foldable smartphone shipments in 2023 are projected to surge 65 per cent year-on-year.

Foldables smartphones in the price range of Rs 60,000 to Rs 75,000 are expected to grow five times by 2026 in India.

Foldable smartphones are predicted to generate sales worth over Rs 6,300 crore in India this year, contributing over 1.8 per cent of the total smartphone revenue. This is driven by the premiumisation trend and maturing user base, looking to differentiate and do more with their smartphones, and India is no different.

"Samsung has pioneered this category and its fifth-generation foldables, with more improvements in design, fold engineering and deeper, optimised software-apps partnerships would only cement its leadership further in India,” Neil Shah, research vice president at Counterpoint Research, told IANS.