Samsung Led Flagship Smartphone Segment in India in Q1 With 49.2 Percent Share: GfK

Defying the competition from Chinese players, Samsung has become the leader in the Indian flagship smartphone market, garnering 49.2 percent share in the first quarter of 2018, the German research firm GfK revealed on Thursday.

In the full financial year (April 2017-March 2018), Samsung registered 55.2 percent market share in the Rs. 40,000-and-above price segment, said GfK that reports final consumption of the devices and not only shipments.

In March alone, the South Korean giant registered a massive 58 percent market share in the flagship segment, riding on the success of Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones that were available for sale in India from March 16.

"These are exciting times for Samsung in India. In the flagship segment, we are the clear leader. The credit goes to our continuous effort towards turning our platforms consumer-friendly with an aim to provide them better value proposition," Aditya Babbar, General Manager, Mobile Business, Samsung India, told IANS.

"Our flagship devices like Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, Galaxy S8, and Galaxy Note 8 have been very successful. The credit goes to the kind of unique technologies these devices have - along with exciting offers for consumers - that have driven the sales for us," Babbar added.

Galaxy S9 series promotions were strong both in offline and online channels in India.

With an aim to make a dent in the market share of Chinese brands in the Rs. 30,000-40,000 segment, Samsung India recently also launched Galaxy A8+ smartphone with flagship features for Rs. 32,990.