Since India went into lockdown in March this year due to the outbreak of coronavirus, companies have struggled to keep their businesses afloat. Sales dipped and revenues came crashing down as demands for products and services went down in this period. But there is a slight hint of recovery visible in the Indian market as the festive season is just around the corner. Samsung is one such company as Raju Pullan, senior vice president for consumer electronics at Samsung India says that the company is witnessing a rise in consumer appliances sales recently.
Mr. Pullan told Reuters, “We’re seeing 32% growth (year-on-year) across televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and microwaves.” He cites the Indian festivities as a major reason behind this growing trend. The Korean electronics company’s overall consumer electronics sales shot up by 20% in August-September, when the Indian markets were starting to unlock.
Indians do not shy away from spending lavishly during this festive period that starts in October and goes on till the end of the year. Even online marketplaces conduct huge sales during this time to attract a large number of consumers. Mr. Pullan says that the COVID-19 lockdown also played a role in increasing demands this time around because consumers were not able to shop during the pandemic.
He added, “Consumers are spending more time at home, and are not able to venture out for entertainment. That’s leading to some quality purchases”. With theatres and other entertainment centers closed down during the pandemic, consumers sought entertainment from the comfort of their homes. This led to an increase in the sales of Samsung’s costly, high-end televisions.
Raju Pullan said that people have become more cautious due to the nature of the coronavirus outbreak. Consumers are restricting themselves from going out regularly to buy daily goods, which Mr. Pullan says, has contributed to Samsung’s refrigerator sales.
Smaller Indian towns outperformed bigger cities like Delhi and Mumbai in terms of sales growth, according to Mr. Pullan. Although, the bigger cities still recorded higher overall sales values.
In its recent Q3 earnings report, Samsung showed strong results as the company’s revenues stood at 66.96 trillion won in the quarter ending September 30. The company reported 1364 won in earnings per share. Despite the strong show in Q3, the Korean company expects sales to go down in the fourth quarter.
