Telecom Lead Asia: Panasonic aims at achieving 8 percent smartphone market share in India in the first year.
This will be a tough task for the consumer electronics major in the Indian smartphone market that is dominated by Samsung.
First, Panasonic does not have a strong product portfolio to grab 8 percent market share. Despite Lumia range, Nokia is struggling to increase market share in India.
Panasonic consumers, who have used VIERA and LUMIX range, will get a costly P51 smartphone from today. There’s no guarantee that it will be a big a booster to sales growth in India.
But Panasonic India president Daizo Ito is confident about its success in Indian telecom market.
“Panasonic has a great legacy of being the pioneers of innovation in every segment. Continuing with our legacy, we are now launching our innovative smartphone which will redefine the Indian smartphone consumer experience,” Ito said.
Second, Panasonic is planning to bring more products. Without expanding its service centers and brand image, it will be difficult to sell in the Indian smartphone market at this point of time to get 8 percent market share.
Third, investment of Rs 200 crore over the next year in brand building for the mobile range is inadequate. India has seen the marketing aggression of Apple, Samsung, Nokia, BlackBerry, Micromax, Karbonn, etc.
Fourth, Panasonic is yet to become well known for bringing out innovative smartphone products for Indian pockets.
See how the Indian smartphone market is shaping up and our top players in the country. Smartphone market share of Nokia in India has plummeted to 13.3 percent in 2012 from 38.4 percent in 2011.
Nokia’s smartphone share has dipped significantly as most of cost effective Nokia Lumia smartphones — on Microsoft Windows 8 platform — reached India in the second half of 2012. India is the number one telecom market for Nokia.
During the calendar year of 2012, Samsung, which has become the #1 smartphone player in India overtaking Nokia, has increased its share in the smartphone business to 43.1 percent from 27.8 percent in 2011. Galaxy phones assisted Samsung to improve market share.
Panasonic India does not have a Samsung Galaxy or Nokia Lumia or BlackBerry Z10 or Sony Xperia to talk about.
The new smartphone P51 priced at Rs 26,990 makes sense for India, according to Panasonic.
“India has always been one of our alpha markets in the region and I take great pride in introducing our smartphone to India. We are confident that our product will provide the Indian consumer a great multimedia experience and the best value for money proposition,” Ito added.
