Samsung and Xiaomi slug it out for pole position in the Indian smartphone market.
It's an hour and a quarter afternoon in early August in Gurugram. Dark clouds looming ominously since early Monday morning open up. The sprawling satellite town in the Delhi National Capital Region is soon drenched in heavy monsoon showers. The streets duly get flooded and traffic begins to crawl.
The aerial view of the city, though, from the 19th floor of Two Horizon Center looks majestic. But there’s one big difference from the scenario 11 months ago. A thick cover of billboards with the green and blue logos of smartphone makers Oppo and Vivo that dotted the entire stretch of Golf Course Road in Sector 43, has vanished. Samsung, which has its India headquarters across eight floors of the 24-storied Two Horizon Center building, has weathered the onslaught of the Chinese siblings. Now it’s got to contend with another battle. With another Chinese giant. With aspirations to be top dog.
The challenger, Xiaomi, has been breathing down Samsung’s neck menacingly over the last three quarters, even emerging No 1 in two of them (see Too Close to Call). Annually, though, Samsung has been numero uno for the past two years.
“The quarter approach has never driven our business,” avers Asim Warsi, senior vice president (mobile business) at Samsung India. Samsung, according to independent market research agency Counterpoint, pipped the Chinese rival by a percentage point in the most recent quarter (ended June) to reclaim pole position with a 29 percent share.
Samsung appears in no mood to yield ground from here on, not just over quarters but over a longer period. “We take a long-term view, and that’s why over the years and for multiple years we have been No 1,” Warsi asserts. “We intend to stay the leader for many more years.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 31, 2018 من Forbes India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 31, 2018 من Forbes India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Home-Cooked Meal Is Now Greatly Valued
The pandemic has also brought with it an improved focus on hygiene, use of technology in dining, rise of cloud kitchens and resurgence in popularity of Indian ingredients
Paytm 3.0 - Reaching Near Breakeven In Two Years
As of 2020, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s super app for financial services had run up losses in thousands of crores. Now, as digital payments gets yet another boost courtesy Covid-19, he’s hopeful of reaching near breakeven in two years
THE PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED WOMEN GREATER LABOUR PAIN
Covid-19 has shown that women are more likely to face the brunt of job losses than men, and find fewer opportunities when they want to resume. That apart, several have to deal with increased hours of unpaid work at home and even domestic abuse
LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABOUT SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE
Leaders must not only guard their teams first during a crisis, but also deal with stakeholders with respect and dignity. And apart from pursuing business goals, they should remain committed to our planet and the environment
PHILANTHROPY SHOULD BE HUMBLE, BUT NOT MODEST
Apart from building a flexible and resilient framework for the future, philanthropists, civil society and the government must work in tandem so that every rupee is absorbed on the ground
INTEGRATED HEALTH CARE, TECH WILL DISRUPT SECTOR
While clinical research will get a boost, having a skilled workforce and public spending on health care will be challenges in the near term
DIGITALISATION WILL HELP IN VALUE CREATION
As the pandemic brings technology and innovation to the core of business and daily life, the next decade will see about 150 million digital-first families in India
Industry 4.0: Climate Revolution?
Augmenting sustainability alongside digital capabilities is an economic, competitive and global opportunity for India’s businesses, but regulations need to reflect intent
EV Dream Still Miles Away
Electric vehicles have remained a buzzword in India for years. But not much has moved on ground due to high upfront costs, range anxiety and charging infrastructure
Living Waters
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life’s breath on this planet
