Of the 12 models launched this year, seven are in the sub-Rs 10,000 range. But the task is formidable.
For years, Samsung jealously guarded its premium player image in the digital camera market and kept away from the low-margin, high-volume segment. Not anymore.
Ignoring the sub-Rs 10,000 segment, which accounts for 80 per cent of total sales in India, has meant Samsung remaining in the fourth position with a mere 10 per cent market share in the Rs 1,750 crore digital camera market. The top three players are Sony, Nikon and Kodak.
But Samsung is doing a course correction with a vengeance. Out of the 12 new models launched this year, seven have been in the sub-Rs 10,000 segment. It is offering a base level camera for only Rs 5,999 to address the mass market. RajKumar Rishi, head-audio video business, Samsung India, says the lower end cameras will help the company increase its market share to 15 per cent by the year-end. The sense of urgency is understandable as digital cameras have become a key growth category, growing at 30 per cent year-on-year.
Realising that the value for money proposition has to be right. Samsung did a study that showed buyers want 12-14 mega pixels and high zoom features up to seven times. Rishi says 3-5 megapixel lenses used to cost Rs 9,000 five to six years ago. “But now we sell 12-14 megapixels at only Rs 6,000-8,000 – a price segment that accounts for 40 per cent of sales in this category”, he adds.
Samsung is also aware that it has to beef up distribution if it wants to sell more cameras. Earlier it used to sell its products through 300 brand shops as well as a few multi-brand retail stores and large formats. But the company soon found out that retailers would prefer to keep the high-margin products in the front shelves rather than the lower-end cameras. “The challenge was how to increase the mindshare of consumers and retailers for this category”, Rishi says.
To begin with, it is strengthening the presence of these cameras in the existing brand shops and increasing the number of such shops by 30-40 per cent every year. Samsung is also expanding its tieups with multi-brand and large retail formats like Croma, I Next amongst others. Rishi says the effort is to make these points of purchase and sales more interactive and engaging to increase visibility.
Are these efforts enough to scale up the ladder, specially when competitors are not exactly sleeping? For example, Sony, the market leader with a 35 per cent share of the digital camera market, has ambitious plans to increase it to 40 per cent by the end of this fiscal. Sony has already launched 31 models this year with advance features like Full HD movie recording, 3D Sweep panorama and high zoom.
Out of these, 18 models (‘W’ series) are priced between Rs 6,990 to Rs 12,990, four (‘T’ series) in the range of Rs 9,990 to Rs 14,990 and six in the high-end range priced between Rs 13,990 and Rs 22,990. The ‘S’ series, which is the entry level camera costing about Rs 4,990, will have three new models this year.
But Sony is not looking at only the sub Rs 10,000 range. Commenting on the pricing, Tadato Kimura, general manager, marketing, Sony India says while cyber-shot is ranged between Rs 4,990 and Rs 22,990, Alpha costs Rs 34, 990 – Rs 49,990.
On the distribution front, Sony is increasing its customer touch points through dealers, sub-dealers, distributors, national retail and photo channel partners. It already has a strong sales network – 5,000 dealers and 270 exclusive outlets — across all major towns and cities in the country.
So Samsung has its task cut out.
