“India’s population of 1.4 billion is a 1.4 billion opportunity. “The strong youth base will be the source of economic innovation.”
In April, Andrea Wojnar, India Representative of the United Nations Population Fund, announced that India’s population had surpassed China’s and said this.
According to the National Statistical Office on the 8th, India will record a population of 1,428.62 million this year, surpassing China (1,425.67 million) and becoming the most populous country for the first time. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts that India’s economically active population will exceed 900 million in 2021 and reach 1 billion in 2030. As the Indian market grows explosively, global companies are also making aggressive moves. Samsung Electronics and Apple of the United States, which are competing fiercely for the world’s No. 1 smartphone, are also predicting a head-on confrontation in India.
India is emerging as the most attractive alternative, especially for companies that are taking advantage of the move away from China. As of the second quarter of this year (April to June), the countries where Apple iPhone was sold the most were the United States, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom. And India beat France and Germany to take the last place in the ‘Top 5’ for the first time in history.
The Times of India, a local media outlet in India, said, “2023 is a special year for India and Apple,” adding, “The premium phone market share (priced over $400), which was about 4% of India’s entire smartphone market before the pandemic, has recently increased to 10%. “He said.
This means that the Indian market, which previously had a strong perception that ‘only cheap products are sold even though the population is large’, is turning into an attractive market for the consumption of premium products, just like China did in the past.
Despite the global demand slump, India’s smartphone market is growing rapidly. According to Strategy Analytics, last year’s Indian smartphone market (based on shipment volume) reached 148.1 million units, ranking second after China (277.9 million units). It pushed the United States (120.1 million units), the leading country of smartphones, to third place. In particular, the Indian market has endless potential. The electronics industry notes that 40% of India’s population still uses feature phones. An industry official said, “The Indian government is pursuing an active policy to expand the information technology (IT) industry. “This means that the potential for expansion of the smartphone market is great,” he said. “Also, the premium market in India, which corresponds to the highest income bracket, is just opening up.”
As the Indian market has become more important, competition between global IT industry giants Samsung Electronics and Apple is intensifying. Samsung Electronics is still ahead with a wide range of products ranging from mid-priced models to premium phones. Samsung Electronics is competing with China’s Xiaomi for first and second quarterly smartphone market share in India. On an annual basis last year, Xiaomi accounted for 20.7% and Samsung accounted for 17.6%.
Samsung Electronics opened the ‘Experience Store’, an experience store, in New Delhi in January, and held a separate ‘Galaxy Unpack’ exclusively for Indian customers at the Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru in February. In line with the growth potential of the Indian market, the adjacent supply chain is also being expanded. Samsung Electronics announced its policy to produce all of this year’s flagship product ‘Galaxy S23′ in India at its local Noida factory. At the Bengaluru Unpack event, Taemun Noh, head of Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Experience (MX) Business Department, emphasized, “India is very important in mobile, so our natural goal is to regain and maintain the top spot.”
Apple currently ranks 6th or 7th in the Indian market (4.4% last year), but is expanding its offensive considering the explosive growth of the premium market. In particular, the company diversified its production lines that used to depend on China and began local production in India, starting with the ‘iPhone 14’ last year. In March of this year, India was promoted to an independent sales region, and India’s first Apple Stores were opened in Mumbai and New Delhi in April. Apple CEO Tim Cook flew to India for the first time in seven years to attend the opening celebration. He posted a photo of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his Twitter and emphasized, “We are doing our best to grow and invest across India.”
On the 19th of last month (local time), even Google joined the competition, announcing that it would begin production in India for the Pixel 8 next year. This is the first time that Google, which has been producing Pixel phones in China and Vietnam, has announced its production plans in India.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.