Xiaomi had started the trend of selling phones online and soon brands like OnePlus and Honor also jumped onto the bandwagon to launch devices that were sold only via e-commerce websites. However, to beat Oppo and Vivo, who have a strong offline presence, Xiaomi decided to sell its products offline and the company has managed to sell a huge number of smartphones both online and via retail stores.
Now, Samsung is planning to do something similar, but in a different way. As per some reports, Samsung will soon launch phones under a new series that will be available online only. As per a report from Economic Times, Xiaomi holds 50% market share among all phones that are sold online.
Some Senior industry executives talked a bit about how Samsung will execute this plan. As per them, the company will launch budget and mid-range phones that will be priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000 and will offer the best-in-class specifications. This might be a good plan to start a war against Xiaomi and attract more customers towards Samsung, who would go for solid hardware, aggressive price tag and the huge after sales support chain Samsung has, where it excels.
As per the data from International Data Corporation, Xiaomi and Samsung tied at 23.5 percent each in the July-September quarter. However, Samsung has a stronger offline presence as compared to Xiaomi.
Samsung recently launched the Galaxy A8+ (2018), which is an Amazon Exclusive phone, priced at Rs 32,990. At this price, it can compete with Mi Mix 2, which offers a tad better specifications. Counterpoint Technology Market Research also concluded that Xiaomi’s rise in India has been mainly due to its strong online presence, and due to the lack of competition as there are no such brands that offer a lot of smartphones every year and sell them online.
As per a Samsung Executive, Samsung will reduce trade partners to 2-3 from 10-12 earlier. The layers of distribution are being cut to ensure better marginal control, which can let them price phones aggressively.
Source: Economic Times
