Samsung has moved to dismiss reports that it has officially dropped the price of its Galaxy S5 smartphone in India to compete with the HTC One (M8).
HTC announced on Monday that the One (M8) will be priced at Rs. 49,900 in India. At least one online retailer was then spotted selling the Samsung Galaxy S5 at a sub-Rs. 47,000 price point, leading to a flurry of media reports claiming that Samsung had slashed the Galaxy S5 price to counter the HTC One (M8) launch. However, Samsung has now dismissed these reports.
The company issued an email statement on Thursday saying "reports claiming Samsung Electronics has revised prices of Galaxy S5 are false and baseless" and the Galaxy S5 "continues to be priced at Rs. 51,500."
It's worth pointing out that companies in India only set a maximum retail price as mandated by the law, and dealers - including online outlets - are free to sell below that price, at a cost to their own margins. It's clear that some media outlets mistook what was standard price-cutting by third-party retailers to be an official price drop and ran with the story.
Samsung continues to sell the Galaxy S5 for Rs. 51,500 via its online store and added in the statement that "this pricing is based on robust demand and increasing sales."
Here is Samsung's statement in full:
Samsung Electronics, India's leading smartphone manufacturer, today clarified that the market price of the Galaxy S5 has not been slashed by the company. Samsung Electronics' flagship smartphone, which was launched in March 2014, continues to be priced at Rs. 51,500. Galaxy Gear 2 is priced at Rs. 21,900 and both Galaxy Gear 2 Neo and Galaxy Gear Fit are priced at Rs. 15,900 each. This pricing is based on robust demand and increasing sales. The company further added that reports claiming Samsung Electronics has revised prices of Galaxy S5 are false and baseless. Galaxy S5 was made available in India through Samsung's retail stores and online sites starting April 11, 2014.
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