With record sale of Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge, Samsung may trump Apple in India

NEW DELHI: Mobile phone retailers and industry insiders reveal Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge models have had massive success in India just after launch, which can potentially catapult the South Korean company to the front of the premium devices segment, outpacing rival and pack leader Apple.

Retail channels said Samsung has sold over 60,000 S7 models within a month of launch – roughly twice the number of its predecessor S6 in the same time. Analysts said the strong initial demand could well put Samsung in the lead in the April-June quarter in the premium segment, outpacing current leader Apple Inc.

Cupertino-based Apple, which held the No 1 spot in the October-December quarter, launches a smaller screen rival, iPhone SE, on April 8, but that hasn’t generated any buzz among consumers, retailers told ET.

“We believe S7 series, in the April-June quarter, will help Samsung strengthen and occupy pole-position in the Indian premium smartphone market, looking into the seasonality cycle of iPhone 6s series and lukewarm response to new Apple iPhone SE,” said Tarun Pathak, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.


The research firm’s initial estimates for sell-in (stocks going to distributors) for initial two weeks suggest a 65% on-year increase for Galaxy S7 series in India, compared with Galaxy S6 series last year.

According to some large format retailers, the demand for S7 series has soared since launch, far higher than what they saw for the S6, which was launched last year. Some said their stocks have dried up due to high demand.

The sales spurt will help Samsung cement its position against Apple, and as a result, the segment is expect to grow 60% on-year in the second quarter this year, Pathak said.

Industry executives aware of the demand-supply gap said orders for about 20,000 phones are in the pipeline, and of the total sales so far, about 80% belong to the higher quoting Galaxy S7 Edge.

"Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are receiving a great response from our customers with pre-orders which are almost double than that of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge," said Manu Sharma, VP-product marketing at Samsung India Electronics.

The strong pre-order performance for the new Galaxy S7 and S7 edge illustrates strong customer appetite for our premium smartphones in India, he added.

Industry executives, who did not wish to be named, said the company was doubling shifts at its Noida plant to ramp up supplies. Samsung didn't comment on this.

“Demand for the Galaxy S7 has been very good and we don’t have enough stock to meet orders,” said Subhash Chandra, managing director of Bengaluru-based Sangeetha Mobiles.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge in India on March 18, priced Rs 48,900 and Rs 56,900, respectively. The company has been bundling or giving sharp discounts on VR headsets along with the devices.

On the other hand, sales of the iPhone SE are set to begin on April 8. The models are priced at Rs 39,000 for 16 GB and Rs 49,000 for 64 GB.

Although Apple has started taking pre-orders, retailers in Delhi said the pace at which inquiries were coming in indicated tepid demand. “The response has been very lukewarm, unlike what we usually see,” a Delhi-based retailer said, asking not to be named.

Apple has not shared global sales numbers for the iPhone SE, which went on sale on March 21. The iPhone maker is not planning a midnight launch for the iPhone SE in India, a person aware of the company’s plans said, pointing out that this was not a flagship product of the company.

On a global level, Samsung has sold about 10 million S7 series units in its launch month in 40 countries mapped by Counterpoint Research, which is 25% higher than S6 series. In the US, sales are up 30%, Western Europe up 20% and China 10% higher than the S6.