Slowdown no worry as Samsung growing across channels: Asim Warsi

According to Asim Warsi, Senior Vice-President, Mobile Business, Samsung India, there has been no change either internally or during the meetings with e-commerce players on lowering down expectations.

New Delhi:Samsung does not see the economic slowdown impacting its smartphone business both online and offline and the outlook is only healthy and positive to grow further, a top company executive has stressed.

According to Asim Warsi, Senior Vice-President, Mobile Business, Samsung India, there has been no change either internally or during the meetings with e-commerce players on lowering down expectations.

"We base our discussions on business and solid facts. Till date, we are on a healthy growth rate. In fact, online business has seen triple-digit growth as we speak, and this will only grow as we enter the festive season," Warsi told IANS.

"We do not see any letting up either in our internal plans or in discussions with our e-commerce partners in India. The outlook continues to be positive and I see growth across channels, not just online," Warsi added.

The India smartphone market saw its highest-ever shipment of 36.9 million in the second quarter (Q2) of 2019 -- with 9.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) and 14.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

According to Warsi, intelligent consumers are today visiting both the virtual world and brick and mortar stores to get a holistic experience.

"Both online and offline are equally important for the business and growth in India and we are addressing both the segments with our Galaxy 'M' and 'A' series smartphones," said Warsi.

In the second quarter (Q2) this year, Samsung closed the gap with Xiaomi on the back of its India-first strategy and a strong portfolio refresh, with Galaxy 'A' and 'M' series.

The South Korean giant plans to sell over two million smartphones led by its upcoming Galaxy 'M' devices before Diwali.

According to Warsi, the most exciting part is selling the device-plus experience.

"Samsung offers smartphones, smartwatches, Bluetooth-enabled buds (Galaxy Buds), fitness bands and so much more to provide its customers with a true connected experience. We have been doing it for the past 3-4 years and will continue to launch smart devices across our ecosystem," the Samsung executive noted.

According to him, while the online smartphone industry is growing at 20 per cent (year-on-year) in value terms, Samsung India's online smartphones business is doing extremely well.

"We're growing at 2x (triple digits) year-on-year when it comes to the online sale of smartphones in the country," informed Warsi.