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“We have been constantly innovating with retail formats” It is not enough to have great products. You have to sell them effectively as well. And no one knows this better than Ranjit Yadav, country head, Mobile Business at Samsung India. We caught up with him to talk about the company’s aggressive retail strategy in India Heena Jatav Samsung has recently opened its mobile brand store in Delhi. How many such new exclusive brand stores is the company planning to open in other parts of the country and by when? In April, we opened the first ever Samsung Mobile Brand Store in Delhi and are looking at opening 8-10 Brand Stores in leading Indian metro cities within this year itself. Samsung has aggressive plans to reach out to as many consumers as possible across India. How do exclusive brand stores provide a different experience to customers as compared to Samsung’s Smartphone Cafes? While on the subject, how many Samsung Smartphone Cafes are there in India and how many does the company intend to open? The Samsung Mobile Brand Store is a significant step in the direction of creating new, unique and holistic product experiences for consumers at the retail level. The Samsung Mobile Brand Store allows consumers to engage and interact with Samsung Smartphones and tablets through convenient table top displays, multiple product demonstrations and dedicated areas for interacting with Samsung Product Consultants. Now if we talk about Smartphone Cafes, we currently have 300 Smartphone Cafes in India and are looking at doubling this figure
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in FY 12. In addition to that, Samsung also has a presence in over 100,000 multi-brand retail outlets in the country. We have seen immense growth in India and have a leadership position, thanks to the consumers who have faith in our products. We have an aggressive plan on strengthening our retail footprint. Samsung’s growth strategy continues to hinge on addressing consumer requirements with a robust and rich portfolio of devices that rank high on innovation, user experience and functionality. Dedicated retail formats no doubt have helped our consumers to get a first hand feel of our vast range of mobile devices. What are your investment plans for strengthening your retail network in India? In terms of our retailing strategy, we are aggressively looking at increasing our retail network across Tier 1 and 2 towns and cities. We are looking at opening 8-10 brand stores in every Indian metro within this year itself. We currently have 300 Smartphone Cafes in India and are aiming to double the figure in FY12. What new innovations in retail can we expect from Samsung in the coming days? At Samsung, we believe in providing our consumers the best retail experience and we have been constantly innovating with our retail formats. Our latest initiative is the Samsung Brand Store which promises to provide our consumers with a unique experience to engage with our range of products and help them make an informed buying decision. We also pioneered the concept of Smartphone Cafes and we currently have more than 300 such cafes all over the country. n heena@mymobile.co.in