MxMIndia

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  • Retailers cheer festive season with a bang, Diwali sales grow despite slowdown + Brands like Apple, Samsung, Nestle and Ferrero Rocher make hay

    Dhanda wasn’t really manda this Diwali

     

    By Sushma U N & Rajesh Chandramouli

     

    The Indian consumer did not disappoint. Early trends indicate they shopped with full vigour this Diwali. Everyone from hawkers on the streets to luxury brands on the high streets had pinned their hopes on the festive season this year, and from what retailers say, they are all heaving a sigh of relief.

     

    While mobile phones flew off the shelves, car sales remained brisk. However, refrigerators and washing machines sales were down.

     

    Chocolates, smartphones strike gold this season
    By Writankar MukherjeeThis Diwali, consumer goods brands across categories are striking gold. Brands like Apple, Samsung, Nestle and Ferrero are hitting new highs in sales, with products coloured various shades of gold, which marketers say Indian consumers associate with being premium.

     

    Check this out: Apple’s iPhone 5s in the gold version sold out within minutes of its launch, and received the maximum number of advance bookings. If that’s not enough, the model is now being resold by smaller neighbourhood retailers who have hoarded stock, and on websites like eBay, at Rs 10,000- Rs 15,000 premium.

     

    Last week, Apple’s rival Samsung too joined the ‘gold’ rush by launching its costliest smartphone ever in India, the golden-colour Samsung Galaxy Golden which, the company says, has sold beyond its expectations.

     

    Among chocolates, Nestle’s Alpino and Ferrero Rocher have sizzled retail shelves during the festive season gifting, both drawing the consumer’s eye with their gilded packaging.

     

    “Gold has huge appeal amongst Indian consumers since it’s a fantastic premium stand-out colour,” says Samsung India country head (mobile and digital imaging) Vineet Taneja. “This also means the product needs to be niche or super-premium,” he says.

     

    It is probably the same understanding which led Apple to launch just 200-odd units of the gold colour iPhone 5s as part of the launch phase last weekend.

     

    Cellphone retail chains like The MobileStore, UniverCell and PlanetM Retail said consumers are ready to pay in advance for the gold device. And of course, some customers who managed to score a gold iPhone5S at Apple’s launch events are re-selling the device on marketplaces like eBay, where a 16GB model is priced at around Rs 63,000 to Rs 67,000, compared with the device’s official retail price of Rs 53,500.

     

    UnivelCell Telecom CEO D Satish Babu said several neighbourhood retailers are selling the iPhone 5s model at a significant premium to the market price. The phone was available in the grey market even before its official India launch – dealers at outlets in Delhi’s Gaffar Market and Mumbai’s Heera Panna were quoting as much as 1 lakh for it.

     

    No wonder, Samsung is selling its gold-colour offering Galaxy Golden smartphone at Rs 50,000, compared with as compared to its flagship Galaxy Note 3 selling at around Rs 47,000. Samsung’s Mr Taneja says despite the premium pricing, demand for the model has been much more than the company’s expectation during Diwali sales.

     

    In chocolates, retail chains like Spencer’s Retail and Future Group say while Ferrero Rocher has been the king of Diwali gifting due to its similarity with the Indian ladoo in shape and golden colour wrapper, Nestle’s first premium chocolate brand Alpino has started off well with a similar packaging giving competition to Cadbury and imported brands.

     

    Spencer’s Retail president & CEO Mohit Kampani says while Ferrero’s share increased from 25% to 32% in Diwali FMCG gifting this year, Alpino has notched up a decent 2% share within a couple of months of its launch.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

    “Diwali sales were as good as last year. The theory that people prefer discount models in a downturn economy got validated. The beginning to the season was sluggish and we were nervous.

     

    However, last Friday (November 1) sales were way above expectations,” Raghunath Narayanan, MD of Europa Group, a clothing discount chains, said. “While exact sales numbers are still being collated, we have witnessed single-digit growth in Diwali sales. Per bill value of each customer was slightly lower than last year, but more shoppers compensated for that drop and ensured growth. In this market , not to have de-grown itself is an achievement,” he said.

     

    Several automakers who expected muted sales this season were in for a surprise . “Early numbers show that sales grew 10% during Diwali. Our daily shipments , which were 9,800 vehicles a day last Diwali, rose to 15,800 this year,” said Mayank Pareek COO, marketing & sales, Maruti Suzuki.

     

    “What we saw this year was a result of pent-up demand. Customers, who postponed purchases, chose Diwali to complete the purchase. However , for the past five or six years, Diwali sales were sluggish. We need to wait and see if this momentum in sales will sustain,” he said.

     

    Mobile phone sales appear top draw this year. Sales at India’s largest mobile phone retailer Univercell grew 30% this year. “Sales have been very good this year, with a 30% increase in sales by value compared with last Diwali. This was driven by the Rs 5,000-10 ,000 and the Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000 price bands, which saw highest growth,” Soumya Menon , V-P of marketing and brand strategy, UniverCell Telecommunications.

     

    Charath Narasimhan, CEO of Indian Terrain, a mens’ clothing brand echoes this view. “Overall sales have been reasonably good with 30% same-store growth in sales. This has been in line with our expectations. Trousers saw highest growth with khakhi coming back in fashion and sales spiking during the weekend,” Mr Narasimhan said.

     

    The consumer durables sector saw mixed response with sales of TVs growing, while sale of refrigerators and washing machines fell this year, said B A Srinivasa, CEO and joint MD, Viveks, a multibrand consumer durables retailer. Over the last few weeks, there was doubt over sales of durables as RBI had banned sales of products at 0% interest on credit cards but this has not impacted sales, Mr Srinivasa said.

     

    The monsoon/end-of-season sale in July was good, Diwali turned out better, and going forward too, for the new year sale, retailers expect the buoyant mood to carry on through what is left of the year. “The wedding season in the north is just a week away. Weathermen have said the winter is going to be strong, and this bodes well because retail will stay longer due to the winter,” said Mr Narasimhan of Indian Terrain.

     

    MAKING MERRY

    Europa Group, a clothing chain, has seen single-digit growth in sales. Per bill value was lower but more shoppers were seen.

     

    Maruti Suzuki’s daily shipments for Diwali this year were 15,800 cars compared to 9,800 vehicles last year. Sales grew 10% Mobile phone retailer Univercell saw 30% sales growth this year with 5k- 10k, 10k- 20K segments growing most Multibrand consumer durables retailer Viveks witnessed good sales in TVs while refrigerators and washing machines fell.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Korea's competing biggies Samsung and LG have found their way to the top in India

    Life’s looking good for Samsung & LG

     

    By Ravi Balakrishnan, Moinak Mitra & Amit Bapna

     

    Call it a tale of two strategies. Korean chaebols Samsung and LG waged furious battles against each other and the rest of the Indian consumer durables industry a decade ago. Today, LG claims leadership, but that’s not enough. It wants a bigger slice of the premium market. Samsung shot up the sales and perceptual charts with a record run from its mobile division. It is now trying to transfer some of that equity to its durables business. As Nilesh Gupta, CEO, Vijay Sales puts it, “Most marketers are looking for profitability and not market share apart from the mobile category. They tell us if you cannot sell, don’t buy. They used to go halfway down the crease to hit the ball, now they are on the backfoot. Four or five years ago, they considered India an emerging market and were investing. Now they are telling India we want profits.”

     

    Both players however claim they are just as aggressive as always but are just showing it differently. BE examines how Korea’s finest are finding their way

     

    The LG Story

    With the launch of the G2, LG made its belated entry into the stratospheric premium range of mobile handsets. In a market where consumers are notoriously hard to impress, the phone has some unique bells and whistles to justify its Rs 40,000 plus price tag. LG India’s managing director Soon Kwon hopes such products will be if not the norm, at least less of an exception. And it better happen sooner than later given his ambition to make the Indian operations among LG’s Top 3 businesses globally, by 2015.

     

    LG currently claims a 30% market share for itself in the consumer durables space. According to Gfk figures sourced from the industry for August 2013, its share for microwaves is 39%, washing machines is 38%, refrigerators is 37%, TVs are at 25% and air conditioners at 23%. And yet, the company is in the throes of a struggle. For too long, it has been perceived as a mid-priced middle class oriented brand and for the last few years has been trying to become a more significant force in the lucrative premium segment.

     

    It’s the biggest challenge since its launch in 1997 and the years in which LG transformed from an unknown entity to a ubiquitous presence. Marketing consultant Nabankur Gupta observes, “It got into a volume game when multinationals were perceived to be playing on value. Apart from heavy advertising, certain products were subsidised.” Consumers soon believed they were getting a good deal across the portfolio: a multinational brand at an Indian price tag. Rajeev Karwal, founder and CEO of Milagrow who headed sales and marketing for LG at the time, recalls the many coups the brand pulled off. In a market dominated by exchange offers, LG launched a TV for 7,500 claiming to stand for no scheming. One of its campaigns featured the grandiose claim of making other televisions history. It was all backed by a unified concept says Mr Karwal: “We’d positioned the brand on the health platform which ran through all their communication whether it was ‘Golden Eye’ TVs for wrinkle free eyes or ‘Health Wave’ microwaves. By building innovative technologies and smart marketing, we came across as a lot bigger than we were.”

     

    The health platform is gone, today. More significantly, so is the frenetic momentum. The reasons vary depending on who you ask. To LG’s critics it is evidence of the brand becoming complacent and driven by diktats from the Korean headquarters. On the flipside, LG believes the strategies needed during a launch phase are quite different from those required to sustain and grow.

     

    Addressing LG’s move away from emotional advertising, Mr Kwon says, “For the last 15 years, we may have been known as more of a family oriented brand. But in fact we are also strong in the very high end. We have decided to focus on a different element to the brand which is technology.”

     

    A visible manifestation of LG’s newfound, some would say belated aggression is its mobile handset strategy. Rival brands dove headfirst into smartphones and even dabbled with the nascent tab category because it positioned them on the cutting edge. LG instead was sluggish on smartphones and ignored tablets entirely. It now has to run a lot faster. It’s doing so with a slew of models that offer more for slightly less and a strong dealer push. It’s stated goal is cornering 10% of the smartphone market by 2014 . Kwon expects a 150 crore turnover from the G2 alone.

     

    LG’s priorities on the marketing mix have shifted too. Like many of its contemporaries, it’s investing a lot more on the in store experience. It has around 2000 exclusive stores, a necessity in a market where modern trade has performed below expectations, according to Mr Kwon.

     

    Where LG claims its priorities have not shifted is coming up with India specific products. These are especially relevant to the rural sector where business growth is higher than in developed markets. LG’s mix for these markets includes the ever cool refrigerator and tougher LCD TVs. To reach these price conscious customers who do not have access to easy finance, the units are priced lower and their features and benefits communicated in detail, according to Sanjay Chitkara, head – marketing, LG India. The urban segment on the other hand will be the focus of LG’s Diwali campaign which according to Mr Chitkara is built around launches of premium television sets.

     

    However, others see confusion in LG’s attempt to straddle various segments. According to Mr Karwal, “Samsung changed completely around the launch of its smartphones. It began to internationalise communication and moved out of low end TVs and washing machines. They got the platform LG used to be known for — the cutting edge of technology.” As for LG, he believes, “The company is more focused on margins than marketing. A lot of their inefficiency and poor product planning gets covered up since they there is no alternative for the trade. If today there was a good marketing company that can synergise all its divisions they will have a run for their money.” Given entry barriers have only gone up since LG rushing the market in the early 2000s this falls squarely into the easier said than done category. Mr Karwal concedes, “It has one of the strongest nationwide distribution channels which itself is a competitive advantage.”

     

    LG has a new sign off these days with It’s All Possible. Instead of replacing the old Life’s Good slogan, the new line sits alongside it as a supplementary message according to Kwon, drawing the consumer’s attention to a vast assortment of products in different categories. It can also be seen as an internal affirmation: a brand reassuring itself that it can in fact try to be all things to all people.

     

    The Samsung Story

    It’s typically hard to define the point at which the fortunes of men and brands change. Not so with Samsung. It all changed in June 2010 with the launch of the Galaxy smartphone series. Suddenly from being one of the many consumer durable players dabbling across washing machines, air conditioners, TVs and yes mobile phones, it began to set the agenda for mobile telephony. It dethroned doughty stalwarts like Nokia and Blackberry and currently accounts for 31.5% of the Indian mobile handset market estimated to be worth Rs 35,946 crore according to a Voice & Data survey.

     

    Samsung executives still nevertheless have sleepless nights. There’s the all too real fear of complacency setting in. Atul Jain, senior vice president – consumer electronics, Samsung who has spent two years in the mobile division admits, “We are completely on the edge as far as the next wave is concerned. I’m not satisfied with S III and the Note doing well or with being the first ones to have launched LED smart TVs, two years ago. That streak in our DNA of looking for the next stage is critical. The lack of it is why a lot of companies fall by the wayside.”

     

    Samsung is trying to keep the momentum going. Vineet Taneja, country head – mobile business Samsung India recalls telling the global chief about what he believed the country needed, only to have a product in hand four months later. “Any other company might have taken 12 or 18 months,” he says, speaking of Samsung Grand a mid price smartphone which packed the gigantic screen size of the Note series into a more affordable model.

     

    For people who wanted the most high end devices and couldn’t afford them, Samsung was the first to start EMI schemes. Mr Taneja admits, “Affordability doesn’t necessarily mean cheap. It means I will make great products accessible so consumers don’t have to shell out so much.” It has helped Samsung move to outlets that were hitherto beyond its reach. Mr Taneja speaks excitedly of a small 2X2 store in Hyderabad with an EMI machine which guarantees a turnover. The demand is outpacing the financial system’s ability to keep up. Mr Taneja has met small shopkeepers in a tehsil at Hajipur, Bihar who wanted the EMI option in spite of there being no credit card holders. Asim Warsi, VP – sales, mobile business, Samsung says, “We would love to make, if we could, Samsung mobile like an impulse brand — people come, decide, buy and walk out — like a packet of chips.”

     

    Accessibility runs a lot deeper than affordability. One of the next big initiatives is getting local language interfaces in smartphones. Mr Warsi observes, “People in interior Gujarat or Maharashtra are not poor for sure — they’ll now have access to internet and mobile experience in a language that is their own.”

     

    Samsung’s task is to transfer the considerable equity gained via its mobile business to the other parts of the portfolio, inducing excitement even in age old categories like televisions and refrigerators. Given the speed of technological obsolescence in Smart TVs, it is trying to future proof its models. For instance, the evolutionary kit fitted into Smart TVs upgrades the set to the latest software and firmware a year down the line.

     

    Not all of its technology is that esoteric. Samsung’s tweaking refrigerators to work out how often they are opened, for how long and to run accordingly. It could lead to 40% cut in electricity bills according to Jain who used this as a plank for a theme campaign this March called ‘Samsung’s on, Saving’s on.’

     

    Chief marketing officer Rahul Saighal sees a healthy rub off taking place between Samsung’s various divisions: “Smart televisions are contributing to Samsung’s image as an innovation leader while our success with devices like Galaxy S4, Note 2 and now Note 3 are further reinforcing that perception.”

     

    Even a notoriously hard to please marketing industry is currently a part of the Samsung fan club. Says Nabankur Gupta, “Every phone with a Samsung badge spells value even at the lower end. The consumer will be favourably predisposed even when there’s a durable to be purchased. Both LG and Sony need to create that.” Gautam Talwar, chief strategy officer, Rediffusion YR believes Samsung is no longer competing with LG or Sony or Canon at a mother brand level but with Apple. He says, “It stands for new age technology and hence can pass the software codes to all other categories rather than the hardware codes which brands like LG land up owning. It needs to move the consumers from the utility and feature enriching platform to the magical world of what technology is capable of doing.”

     

    However, a former Samsung executive at a rival firm has a few words of caution, “Nokia got into the trap of believing that they know how to control technology, Samsung should be careful to avoid the arrogance that comes with the leadership position. Its approach has been primarily of a hardware manufacturer more focused on driving hardware specifications than (industry design) that would appeal. The seamless integration of software with hardware is something that is missing.”

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Leading brands like Samsung, Peter England, Woodland register a 30 percent jump in festive season sales

    Slowdown? Top brands report 30% jump in festive sales

    By Writankar Mukherjee & Sagar Malviya

     

    The festive season sales have started off well in most of the country with marketers reporting up to 30% jump in year-on-year sales as consumers swarmed malls and markets in the first weekend after the Shraadh fortnight.

     

    Top retailers and brands such as Samsung, Peter England, Woodland, Van Heusen, Indigo Nation, Biba and Scullers attributed the positive start to festive sales to pent-up demand, 10% hike in dearness allowance for more than 80 lakh central government employees and pensioners, and the payout of festival bonus. “The festive season has started off in good spirit,” Harkirat Singh, managing director at shoes and apparel retailer Woodland, said. “There has been a modest 30% jump in sales, with consumers buying for themselves and gifting,” he said.

     

    Consumer electronics and durable-makers like Samsung and LG said that while sales in the east has picked up in the weekend before Durga Puja, in places such as Delhi and Mumbai, consumer enquiries, sales bookings and purchases of large-screen televisions and large home appliances such as side-by-side refrigerators and fully automatic washing machines have increased. Atul Jain, senior vice-president for consumer electronics at Samsung India, said the demand increased by up to 30% last weekend over the previous four days. “This gives us huge confidence as we enter the festival season,” he said. Samsung is targeting a 50% jump in sales in east and 40% rise in national festive sales to around Rs 3,500 crore.

     

    The festive spirit was most palpable in Kolkata where malls were choc-a-bloc this weekend and there were long queues in front of popular stores such as Sreeleathers and Baazar Kolkata on Sunday evening.

     

    Some like Sreeleathers kept their store open from 6 am till 10 pm. SB Dey, partner at the leather products retailer, said that despite extending operational hours, huge rush created long queues outside all his stores. At Great Eastern, the largest durable retailer in the east, sales started picking up from the last week despite heavy rains, its director Pulkit Baid said, adding that sales are up 15-20% over last year. The pick-up in consumer demand has come as a relief for retailers after lukewarm sales during Onam, Kerala’s biggest festival, last month.

     

    Future Group-owned apparel maker Indus League, which owns and sells brands like Indigo Nation, Scullers and Jealous Jeans, said it had to rush in fresh stocks to several outlets across several cities including New Delhi and Mumbai.

     

    “We did not anticipate such a huge demand since Onam sales were comparatively dull this year,” Indus League CEO Rachna Aggarwal said.

     

    Women’s ethnic fashion brand Biba said its sales have grown 35-40% so far this season, almost double the pace of its expectation. “During this season, we usually see a lot of traction in heavy clothing sets which cost around Rs 8,000. But this year, consumers are not shying away from buying garments priced up to Rs 20,000,” Siddharth Bindra, managing director at Biba, said.

     

    Men’s apparel brands Van Heusen and Peter England said their sales are growing 40% and up to 25%, respectively, in the east. “However, sales growth is yet to touch what it was in 2011,” Kedar Apshankar, chief operating officer at Peter England, said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Micromax, Karbonn, Apple occupy next 3 slots as handset revenue grows 14.7 percent to touch Rs 35,946 Cr in FY13

    Samsung replaces Nokia as #1 cellphone in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian mobile handset market posted revenues of Rs 35,946 crore in FY 13 compared to Rs 31,330 crore in FY12 showing a growth of 14.7%. This was mainly due to the increasing uptake in smartphones by the Indian consumers.

     

    The 18th annual survey ‘V&D 100’ by Voice&Data magazine covered over 30 mobile handset companies doing business in India across categories like feature phones, multimedia phones, enterprise phones and smartphones. Both multinational and Indian mobile phone firms were surveyed for this report.

     

    The biggest surprise of the year was Korean electronics maker Samsung dethroned Nokia from the top position. The Finnish handset maker had been holding the fort for over a decade.

     

    Samsung’s rise in the Indian market is attributed to its rich product portfolio that was able to cater to customers of all budget categories. Samsung handset prices range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 50,000. Samsung mobile handsets come in varied screen sizes. These two factors helped the company grabbing customer’s attention, besides the product quality and new features.

     

    Samsung ended the year with revenues of Rs 11,328 crore compared to Rs 7,891 crore in FY12 showing a growth of 43.6%. The company also became the market leader with 31.5% market share.

     

    The former leader of the Indian mobile phone market Nokia dropped a rank to be placed at No 2 in the Voice&Data survey with 27.2% market share with a significant 18% drop in revenue.

     

    In the 12 months ended March 2013, Nokia revenues from Indian operations were placed at Rs 9,780 crore compared to Rs 11,925 crore in FY12. The revenue loss at Nokia has been staring at Nokia worldwide in view of a few strategic missteps. Nokia’s drop in market share started when the company failed to sense the need of a dual-SIM phone for the Indian consumer, and the same was tapped by the Indian players years ahead of global players like Nokia.

     

    On a global ground, not embracing the most popular and most accepted operating system – android – for its Smartphones, gives its potential customers very little choice.

     

    Nokia’s Lumia series phones that witnessed huge growth globally in the initial phases could not draw much attention in India.

     

    “The rise of smaller local players like Micromax, Karbon, Lava, and Zen is a clear indication that consumers want cheaper feature rich phones. The next phase of mobile penetration in the bottom of the pyramid India will be driven by these companies,” says Ibrahim Ahmad, Group Editor of Voice&Data.

     

    Homegrown handset company Micromax captured #3 position among V&D100 Top10 mobile handset brands for the year 2013. Though it performed pretty badly in FY12 and the first quarter of FY13, through some smart thinking and innovative products, the Gurgaon-headquartered phone maker grew by 58.6%. By the end of the last fiscal, the company posted revenues of Rs 3,138 crore compared to Rs 1,978 crore in FY12. With this Micromax enjoys a market share of 8.7%.

     

    Closing in next is Karbonn Mobiles, the company among the Indian handset players that grew most consistently. In FY13, Karbonn grew by 73.1% to register revenues of Rs 2,297 crore compared to Rs 1,327 crore in FY12. IN FY 2013 Karbonn grew by 32%.

     

    With thism the Bengaluru-based UTL Group and Delhi based Jaina Group Joint-Venture Company, Karbonn captured a market share of 6.4% and is placed at #4 position in the table. Last year they were placed at #5.

     

    Also making an entry into the Voice&Data Top10 table in the handset space is Apple that grew a mammoth 417.2% to post revenues of Rs 1,293 crore in FY13 compared to Rs 250 crore a year back. Though India was never a focus market for the Cupertino-based smart device maker till Steve Jobs’ era, in the last two years Apple has started making inroads, though slowly.

     

    In the last fiscal, the company made some disruptive changes in its sales strategy which paid off. Appointing Ingram Micro and Redington as the national distributors for their entire sales, and offering EMI schemes to the consumers to buy the most coveted Apple product changed the game for them. The company now enjoys 3.6% market share in India with the smallest number of handset models in its portfolio.

     

  • While the Samsung Galaxy S4 has some cool features which don't exist on the flagship Apple handset, the experience of the iPhone, like that of any Apple machine, is amazing. And it's not going to be easy to get a diehard i5 user or even that of an i4 or i4s to make the switch

    1 Minute View: S4 > i5?

    Some of you may have seen the glitzy Diana Hayden emcee the launch of the Galaxy Samsung S4 in Gurgaon’s Kingdom of Dreams live at the venue or online. The attempt was to showcase the device and its various features. And how!

     

    Indeed many of these are very cool, and would get people to switch to the S4. But, of course, if you have paid upwards of 30k just a year back for the S3, it remains to be seen how many people upgrade.

     

    In a price sensitive Indian market, we believe the S4 buyer will be users of sub S3 or other handsets. Samsung India officials have clearly stated there is no exchange offer coming up.

     

    What may work in the S4’s favour is the MRP of Rs 41,500. Note this is MRP so we will have retailers offering a lower rate. Plus there are offers coming up from Vodafone.

     

    The big question: is the S4 better than the iPhone 5? Well, it’s got some cool features which don’t exist on the flagship Apple handset. But the experience of the iPhone, like that of any Apple machine, is amazing. And it’s not going to be easy to get a diehard i5 user or even that of an i4 or i4s to make the switch.

     

    So why’s a media, ad and marketing destination like MxMIndia writing about the Samsung Galaxy S4, one may ask. Over the last few years, Samsung has become a significant player in the mobile devices space. Other than the fact that each of these devices has a fantastic adspend budget, they are media vehicles and the newer features that each of them offer can play a huge influence on applications (or apps) that will be developed in future.

     

  • According to the PrecisionMatch Mobile Handset Market Insights, Samsung Galaxy S3 is the most viewed model

    Samsung, Nokia, Micromax more researched than Apple

    By A Correrspondent

     

    PrecisionMatch, data provider for digital marketing in India, MEA and SEA, has released its ‘Mobile Handset Market Insights’ for India for the period December 2012 to February 2013. The consumer data in the mobile handset market suggests that Samsung, Nokia, Micromax, Sony and HTC are the five most researched brands on the internet and Samsung Galaxy S3 with its unique features is the most researched handset model.

     

    A key insight gathered from the data is the increasing consumer interest in Micromax phones. Micromax was the second most researched handset brand after Samsung in Feb 2013 while Micromax A110 Canvas 2 was the most researched handset model in January 2013. The data also suggests increasing popularity of Nokia, with its range of Nokia Asha and Nokia Lumia models that are competing with the likes of HTC, Apple and Sony Mobile. Another interesting revelation is Sony’s consistent performance making Sony Mobile the 4th most researched handset brand.

     

    PrecisionMatch Mobile Handset Market Insights was derived from aggregation and analysis of audience data for 5.3 million unique users across India over the 3 months. The 5.3 million unique users are audiences who displayed strong purchase intent by either researching, comparing or reviewing handset brands across sites. PrecisionMatch utilizes advanced data mining and analytics to identify prospective consumer segments for advertisers, generate actionable insights from aggregated data and develop consumers online behavior models.

     

  • The TVC will be aired across Hindi and English entertainment and movie channels

    Leo Burnett creates TVC for Samsung Galaxy Grand

    By A Correspondent

     

    Samsung Electronics has announced a new TVC aimed as a consumer connect initiative to showcase Galaxy Grand, recently introduced Dual SIM Smartphone in India. The commercial, conceptualized by Leo Burnett is aimed at the middle segment and bring outs fun, style and passion of everyday moments of a user.

     

    Strongly focused on creating a work life balance between personal and professional lives of youngsters, the TVC creates synergy between the consumers and the features of the Galaxy Grand by showcasing aspirations, passions and hobbies of an ambitious and confident individual. It begins with a young male professional aspiring to live a grand life by travelling by bike to see mountains kiss clouds, sky changing colours to every possible shade. He wishes to capture his memories with big screen experience & stay connected with his friends. Next thing you know, he mentions about reserving special place to watch movies. A super appears in the foreground that reads: ‘Samsung Galaxy Grand.

     

    It encourages younger generation to capture personal moments through technology purchase of the right smartphone in spite of budgetary constraints and highlights top-end hardware and software features with a very attractive price of Galaxy Grand.

     

    The TVC will be aired across Hindi and English entertainment and movie channels.

     

    Credits:

    Client:  Samsung India Electronics Ltd

    Agency:  Leo Burnett

    Creative: Sainath Saraban, Sumit Negi

    Account management: Ravpreet Ganesh, Ankur Bora, Rohan Bharel

    Account planning: Megha Deorani

    Production house: Cutting Edge Pictures

    Director: Julien Trousselier

    Producer: Billoo Sandhu

    Executive producer/Associate producer:

    Director of photography: Daniel

    Music director: Rupert

    Post house: After Post

     

  • Indian music service Saavn has announced the launch of its new advertisement platform, Impact, which enables brands to identify, connect and engage with its users

    Saavn launches new ad platform

    By A Correspondent

     

    Indian music service Saavn has announced the launch of its new advertisement platform, Impact. This platform enables brands to identify, connect and engage with its 10.5 million users in India and across the globe.

     

    Impact is an innovative approach to digital and mobile advertising that gives brands 100 percent share-of-voice. Using Impact, brands get complete and exclusive access to all advertisement units on the Saavn web site and mobile apps for a set time period. These include Custom Skin, Web Display, Web Audio, Mobile Spotlight, Mobile Display, and Mobile Audio. Impact is a powerful model that allows brands to build positive associations with their products and services through music. The model has proven to create strong brand awareness, shape brand preferences and increase purchase consideration through undivided mindshare of listeners of Saavn across platforms.

     

    “In India, we all know that music plays an integral and meaningful part in every individual’s life. Impact is a powerful solution that enables the advertisers to build an emotional connection with their target audience during a passionate, social and engaging musical experience,” Vinodh Bhat, co-founder and CEO of Saavn, said. “The Saavn Impact model is based around engagement, curation and social sharing rather than the archaic click-through. Brands are able to measure ROI in meaningful ways, such as increases in perception, awareness, recall and purchase intent. The byproduct of our strong focus on the consumer experience is helping brands grow their businesses.”

     

    Some of the major brands utilizing Saavn to reach million of engaged users in India include: Samsung, Lay’s, Pantene, Pepsi, Nokia, Vodafone, Airtel, Hyundai, Domino’s Pizza, 7Up, Nielsen, MakeMyTrip, Max NewYork Life, Google Plus, Nokia, Vanish, Groupon, Intel and several others.

     

    Saavn delivers a comprehensive catalogue of Bollywood, Indian and regional South Asian music, licensed from more than 200 content providers. Saavn users can search, browse, and play a catalog of more than 1 million tracks; create and save their own playlists; and share their music tastes seamlessly via Facebook.

     

  • Location-based mobile advertising platform AdNear has raised Rs 35 crore in its first round of funding from venture capital firms Canaan Partners and Sequoia Capital

    AdNear raises Rs 35 crore in its first round funding

    By Biswarup Gooptu

     

    Location-based mobile advertising platform AdNear has raised Rs 35 crore in its first round of funding from venture capital firms Canaan Partners and Sequoia Capital, signaling the growing attractiveness of the sector for risk capital.The funds will be used by the Bangalore and Singapore-based startup to expand its presence across the Asia Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, as well as towards building its team.

     

    “We decided to participate in the mobile advertising eco-system, and picked AdNear, because it has built technology to provide target advertising on mobile phones,” Rahul Khanna, partner, Cannan Partners, said.

     

    The four-year old startup, promoted by Anil Mathews, has developed its own platform that does not require Global Positioning System (GPS). It also works on both feature and smart phones. Within a year of launching its service, it has picked up multinational customers, such as Nokia, Toyota and Samsung.

     

    Sequoia and Canaan declined to state their exact holding, only saying they would hold minority stakes in the company.

     

    “It’s a technology play after a very large market of mobile advertising that has not been explored in this part of the world,” Mohit Bhatnagar, managing director at Sequoia Capital said on the AdNear transaction.

     

    The investment comes soon after Bangalore-based InMobi, an independent mobile advertising company announced that it was shutting its operations in Africa and Russia.

    The global mobile advertising market is dominated by Google’s AdMob, with growth coming from markets where smart phones dominate, including, Japan Korea and the US.

    In September last year, InMobi raised $200 million – till recently, the largest deal in the global mobile internet space – from Japanese telecommunications and media corporation Softbank.

     

    Mojiva raised $7 million earlier in the month, while Jumptap raised $27.5 million in July, prior to its public offering.

    On the mobile side, Canaan Partners had earlier invested in interactive mobile content manager Cellcast in 2007, and has also invested in mobile gaming company Kabam.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • A brand tracker revealed that the aspirational value of Apple is at a level that Samsung will probably never hope to reach, writes Samyak Chakrabarty, post the courtroom duel between the two corporations

    Young Track by Samyak Chakrabarty | What youth think of Samsung vs Apple

    What’s a 23-year-old writing a column on a site where the average age of columnists is… ? Ok, ok, we won’t reveal that number, but like it or not the youth constitute a majority of India’s population. Since the last few years, young Samyak Chakrabarty has been in and around media events and offices with his vision of how the youth can be targeted.

     

    In this period, he has organized a few conferences, participated in several of them in India and abroad, and works as Chief Youth Marketer with the DDB Mudra group. He’s organized a TedX youth conference in Mumbai, was invited to meet Hillary Clinton when she visited India and has co-authored a book ‘Generation Einstein 3.0 – India version’.

     

    Samyak’s column appears on Wednesdays and as the title suggests, it tracks the young – specifically keeping in mind the advertising, media and marketing fraternity – Ed

     

    Why Samsung can never enjoy the same aspirational value as Apple amongst Young Indians

    Post the courtroom battle, we conducted a brand tracker to ascertain what young india thinks about the two mobile giants and has any of the legal proceedings affected their opinions. The result was clear – Apple not only maintained its high aspirational value, it crushed ‘ image to a level where many students were even ashamed to bring out their Galaxy smartphones out of their pockets for a long while. Those who could afford it, even discarded them. We looked at what Apple does so right, that it is (not only in India) the most highly regarded youth brand.

     

    1. Innovation: They always ensure there is enough fodder amongst techies and enthusiasts to talk about ensuring that the word of mouth is sustained. Secondly, as a technology brand they have kept up their promise of delivering to customers newer products at regular intervals. But then so does Samsung, but the difference is – at Apple it is not about ‘new’, its more about being ‘ahead of time’ – something every consumer wants to be!

     

    2. Design and packaging: Suave and simple is the new flashy. From looks to functionality to packaging, they have ensured that the word ‘sleek’ is heard everywhere. The problem with Samsung is that even though loaded with equal amount of features, if not more, it has not been able to create the aura around its products as Apple.

     

    3. Pricing: Everybody knows that an Apple does not come cheap, hence if you have one, you have arrived in life. In this case, the higher tag is working to its advantage even for volume sales. Youngsters in colleges are known to save up and cut down on other expenses just to have that device even though going by the SEC they belong to, it would be unaffordable. The likes of Samsung and Micromaxes are perceived as a poor man’s smartphone and more crudely (after the battle) – a copycat brand!

     

    4. Steve Jobs: Believe it or not, many youngsters aspire to posses an Apple product because of their sheer respect for this genius. He is the best brand ambassador they could ever have and it continues to be so even after his death. Samsung unfortunately has no story behind its creation, hence the legacy factor is missing.

     

    My reading from this is that today’s young indian consumer is all about the 360-degree. It does not matter if one factor alone is perfect – everything has to be so! Apple has sustained its brand promise and the proof of loyalty is that even through various criticisms related to the product, its perception equity has never been affected. Samsung may end up being the choice of actual purchase due to economic reasons, but Apple will always be a dream possession.

     

  • With big-budget marketing spends, attractive offers and easy payment options woo on offer, is it a customer’s Diwali this year?

    This Diwali, spend some more!

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Come festive season and the consumer durable giants go all out to woo their prospective customers. After all, this is the time when consumers are amenable to the idea of getting that new refrigerator or purchase that LCD notwithstanding the dreaded economic slowdown or high inflation. All the leading players in this segment have worked out elaborate plans to get customers to opt for their brand and spending mega bucks to seeing their plan materialize and reap in benefits.

     

    LG India has planned big budget spends on marketing to attract customers this festive season. Giving a peek at their plans, L K Gupta, Vice President, Marketing LG India, said, “This festival season we are offering a true 0% finance scheme on selected products to encourage consumers to upgrade to latest products and enhance their lifestyle. There are many other exciting combo offers like BD blu ray player+ 3 3D movies with Cinema screen 3D TV, another offer is 3D camcorder & 8GB USB with 55 & above Cinema screen 3D TV, 3D blockbuster movies in 8GB USB with Cinema 3D TV and many more exciting offers . In the Home Appliance Category LG is offering 10 years warranty on the compressor of the select models of Refrigerators. This offer is also valid on the motor of front load and selects models of top load washing machine.”

     

    So there is a mix of attractive offers like exciting combos and then finance schemes to woo customers. Sony India has allocated a budget of Rs 150 crore (Sep-Nov 12) towards marketing activities for this festive season. In fact, the company is expecting revenue of Rs. 2,850 crore, during the period of September and November 2012 period from the Indian market and hopes to achieve 50% sales growth over last year’s festive sales. These numbers were shared by Kenichiro Hibi, Managing Director, Sony India.

     

    Sony India has introduced an extravagant lucky draw for its consumers- This Diwali Bond with Sony. Sony’s has tied-up with Sony Pictures Entertainment for the much awaited James Bond action thriller – Skyfall as a part of its marketing initiative for the festive season. Besides, attractive offers and innovative products, Sony India has a dedicated multi-media marketing campaign for its flagship product category. The campaign has been created keeping in mind the flavour and zest of the Indian festive season. This campaign is on-air from mid October till end of November, 2012.

     

    To top it all, to ensure that all the offers are even lighter on the customer’s pocket, the payment procedure is made convenient and affordable by Zero Percent Finance Offer and Zero Processing Fee. Sony is offering attractive EMI offers on Select Credit Cards as well. Some of the popular Sony products line up that has offers include- Cyber-Shot, VAIO and Bravia. These products also make for a great gifting option.

     

    For another consumer durable major Samsung, it is focusing on ‘smart home celebrations’ for this festive. The company is targeting around 25% growth for the festival season and there are gifts with the purchase of Samsung audio visual and home appliance products.

     

    “Smart Home Celebrations” offers attractive gifts on the purchase of Samsung audio visual and home appliance products. Mahesh Krishnan, Vice President, Consumer Electronics Business, Samsung India said, “It is our endeavor to make the auspicious festive season even more special for our consumers by giving them exciting gifts with their purchase of a Samsung product. The gifts available to consumers range from Samsung tablets for our hi-end Series 7 and 8 in Smart TVs and select Side by Side refrigerators to mobiles for select Home Appliance products.”

     

    The consumer promotion and Samsung’s innovative product range will be supported with a multi-media advertising campaign as well as below the line marketing activities during the auspicious period of Durga Puja and Diwali.

     

    “Based on our strong product lineup and festival offers, we are looking at a 25% jump in sales during the festival period,” said Mr. Krishnan. The Samsung ‘Smart Home Celebrations’, promotion is valid from October 01 till November 30, 2012 nationwide, and for West Bengal, Orissa, Assam and North Andhra Pradesh from September 29 till November 18, 2012.

     

    There are offers that include that in the Home Appliances category, the Samsung Side-by-Side refrigerators will entitle consumers to a free Galaxy Tab 7.0, while on the purchase of frost free and direct cool refrigerators, front and top loading washing machines, or the Samsung dishwasher, the Company will give away a free Samsung mobile phone. On the purchase of 46″ and above size Samsung Smart LED/ Plasma TV models in Series 7 and 8 will entitle consumers to a Galaxy Tab 7.0 and an 11 by 1 easy consumer finance scheme. So offers are in plenty that is sure to appeal to the customers.

     

    Panasonic India is betting big on this festive season and has rolled out a range of special offers under its nationwide campaign ‘Celebrations for Life’. These offers announced by Panasonic in presence of their Eco brand ambassador Dia Mirza promises assured gifts for consumers looking for new purchases to commemorate the spirit of festivity. Panasonic is confident that this appealing campaign will play a big role in lifting the dampening sentiments created in the consumer durable space throughout the year with rupee depreciation and price hike.

     

    Daizo Ito, President, Panasonic India said, “It is well known that no other country holds so many festivals of antiquity with such joy as does India and this is what makes it a great nation. Panasonic is committed to the Indian market and that buying new products during this time is considered auspicious. Thus we are announcing a variety of consumer schemes and offers on purchase of a wide range of products.”

     

    Manish Sharma, Managing Director, Consumer Product Division, Panasonic India too added, “As the season of celebrations is about to start, we at Panasonic India are delighted to add to the festive spirit with several enthralling schemes for our customers. We have announced various offers so that our consumers can enjoy the festivities with the latest Panasonic offerings in a pocket-friendly manner. Through these offers, we are targeting a turnover of Rs. 1200 crores nationally this festive season.”

     

    As part of channel support programme during festive celebrations, Panasonic has also designed special offers that will enable channel to get maximum benefits from Panasonic products.

    Whirlpool of India has unveiled its festival promotion called ‘A Kitchen In Your Honour’. The consumer promotion for the festive period promises to give real value to its consumers and is expected to generate excitement and a heightened desire to purchase Whirlpool products during the festival season. Apart from a gift on every purchase, the consumer will also be entitled to a scratch card through which 1200 lucky customers stand a chance to win Whirlpool kitchen appliances. Additionally, the company is also offering a bumper prize of Kitchen makeover worth Rs 2.5 lakh to fuve lucky customers. Further enhancing the festive spirits, Whirlpool has also introduced new products and giving away gifts. The Diwali promotion and the newly launched products will be supported in print and radio and through a host of innovative activities such as OOH, Digital and Outdoors. The total advertising and marketing spend earmarked for the Diwali promotion this year is in the range of Rs 10-12 crore.

    Commenting on Whirlpool’s offers during the festival season, Shantanu Dasgupta, Vice President- Corporate Affairs & Strategy, Whirlpool India said, “Whirlpool believes in  understanding and launching  innovative products, which would delight our consumers, thus this festive season, we are happy to launch ‘A Kitchen In Your Honour’ promotion for all our customers.  Our new premium range of products has been specially designed keeping in mind the needs of a homemaker.  We intend to give our consumers best in class products and offers that would bring magic to their homes this Diwali. The brand is targeting a growth of 20% over last year and aims for sales of around 900 crores during this festive season.”

    So there are deals galore and attractive offers thus enticing the consumers to get that bigger screen or the better camera. So get ready to loosen your purse strings this festive season.

     

  • It’s a mixed bag for Top 10 players: Samsung, Karbonn, HTC and Huawei record growth & Nokia, Micromax, Blackberry, Spice, LG and G’Five drop revenues

    Mobile handset revenues drop 5% to Rs 31k cr

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian mobile handset market saw a drop of 5 per cent in revenues in FY 2011-12. The revenues dropped to Rs31,215 crore from Rs33,031 crore a year back. The annual survey of the Indian telecom industry by CyberMedia Group’s flagship journal for the telecom industry – Voice&Data attributes this drop to de-growth in the feature phones sales as well as lower average selling values (ASVs).

     

    The 17th annual study ‘V&D 100’ surveyed over 30 mobile handset firms – both multi-national and Indian – selling feature phones, multimedia phones, enterprise phones and smartphones in India.

     

    The disappearing act by the home-grown handset makers was a big surprise of the year. Barring Karbonn and Lava, none of the Indian handset players could face intense competition. Their main stay – feature phones – saw a negative growth while the entry level smartphones of various companies saw a marginal rise.

     

    “Indian mobile phone brands that had hoped to make a mark by sourcing Chinese handsets and selling them only on the price plank were in for a big surprise. These players will have to quickly rethink their product, marketing and service strategy afresh to put their house in order,” said Ibrahim Ahmad, Group Editor, Voice&Data.

     

    Top 10IndiaMobileHandset Vendors: Voice&Data 100 survey 2012
    Revenue in Rs Crore
    Rank 2011-12 2010-11 Change Mkt Share in %
    1 Nokia 11925 12929 -8 38.2
    2 Samsung 7891 5720 38 25.3
    3 Micromax 1978.0 2289 -14 6.3
    4 Blackberry 1460.0 1950 -25 4.7
    5 Karbonn 1327.0 1004 32 4.3
    6 HTC 923.0 450 105 3.0
    7 Spice 790.0 920 -14 2.5
    8 LG 780.0 1834 -57 2.5
    9 Huawei 750.0 626 20 2.4
    10 G’Five 670.0 1326 -49 2.1
    Total 31,215.0 33,031.0 -5 100.0
    Source: Cybermedia’s Voice&Data Annual survey of the industry 2012

     

    Nokia remained the number 1 player in the handset business in FY 2011-12 with revenue of Rs11,925 crore, despite a 8 per cent  drop. The Finnish company lost market share in smartphones and multi-media segment to Samsung, HTC and Apple, among others.

     

    Nokia felt its absence in the Android ecosystem dent its performance, it made a head way in the dual SIM phones category but lost out in the smartphone market and ended the year with a market share of 38.2 per cent.

     

    The Korean giant Samsung, grew its revenues 38 per cent to Rs7,891 crore at the second spot with a market share of 25.3 per cent. Voice&Data analysts attribute Samsung’s success to its rich product portfolio based on Windows, Android and Bada operating systems. Samsung’s Galaxy Note, a hybrid between smartphone and tablet was a trail blazer selling 40,000 units each month since launch in late 2011.

     

    “As consumers look for applications beyond voice and SMS, the market will see fight for high-end feature phones and smart phones intensify further. Consumers can also look forward to steeper price drops and more features in the same price,” said Mr Ahmad.

     

    Homegrown handset company Micromax with revenues of Rs1,978 crore ranked third among Voice&Data100 Top10 mobile handset brands, recording a 13 per cent negative growth and a market share of 6.3 per cent.

     

    The only other Indian player to post revenues of over Rs1,000 crore was Karbonn. The company grew its revenues 32 per cent to emerge as the No 5 player with a market share of 4.3 per cent.

     

    Among the global companies in the V&D100 Top 10 players, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion dropped the most- 25 per cent – to post revenues of Rs1,460 crore. At No 4, Blackberry had a market share of 4.7 per cent on the back of entry level smart phones last year.

     

    Taiwanese handset maker HTC saw maximum growth among all the brands surveyed by Voice&Data. HTC’s revenue more than doubled to Rs923 crore to inch a 3 per cent market share.

     

    The other key players in the Top 10 list include Spice Telecom (Rs790 crore), LG (Rs780 crore), Huawei (Rs760 crore) and G’Five (Rs670 crore),