'India first' to be a major focus: Samsung

Samsung on Monday said "India-first" will continue to be a major focus area for the South Korean electronics major as it rolls out newer devices aimed at millennials.

The company - which is locked in an intense battle for market leadership in India with China's Xiaomi - also said it will bring its A80 smartphone that features a rotating camera in India within this month.

"India is one of the big markets for us. It is a fast-changing market. If we can win over India, then we can win over in any global market," Samsung Head of Innovation Product Planning Group Yeon Jeong Kim said.

He added that the company has, over the past many months, launched devices in India before other markets.

"...India is the first market where we bring many of our products and we will continue with this strategy," he said.

While Samsung usually cites GfK data, reports from other research organisations like IDC and Counterpoint have positioned Xiaomi to be ahead of Samsung (in terms of units shipped) for many quarters now.

According to IDC, Xiaomi had a 30.6 per cent market share, followed by Samsung at 22. 3 per cent in the January-March 2019 quarter.

Samsung, citing GFK data, said it had 39 per cent market share in value terms and 41 per cent in volume terms in the January-March quarter.

Earlier this year, Samsung had unveiled its India-first 'M' series that include smartphones priced sub-Rs 20,000 and are sold only online.

Samsung also revamped Galaxy A series and said it aims to clock USD 4 billion (around Rs 28,000 crore) in revenue this year in India from this series. In May, it had said A series smartphones has already crossed sales of USD 1 billion (nearly Rs 7,000 crore) in 70 days.

Kim said the A80 will be launched in the Indian market within this month.