‘We support ban on non-IMEI phones’

Ranjit Singh Yadav is the director, mobile and IT, Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd. With 22 years of experience, he had worked with Hewlett Packard (HP) Asia Pacific as director, Asia Pacific Japan.

In his last assignment, he was responsible for APJ Enterprise Service and Storage business for Asia Pacific and Japan.

Prior to joining HP Asia Pacific, he has worked with Philips Electronics, Asia Pacific as director, marketing, televisions for Asia Pacific.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Mr Yadav holds a degree in economics from the University of Delhi.

Excerpts from an interview with Pawan Bali:

With consumers wanting to use more advance services like email and chatting among others, how are handset manufacturers like you coping with these challenges?
The frequent use of texting, emailing, instant messaging, sharing content through their mobiles are some of the ways by which today’s youth choose to stay connected with their friends.
As manufacturers, we try to satisfy the growing needs of our consumers. Mobile phones are based on the messaging platform and developed keeping in mind the needs of the youth to stay connected. These mobile phones have features like live chat and one click access to social networking sites (like Facebook or Orkut).

Do you see any role for handsets manufactures in growing beyond manufacturing in terms of setting up online music libraries, games and providing other services to the consumer?
As a manufacturer, our attempt will be to give consumers access to more and more applications on their phones. We are working with developers globally and in India to provide more and more applications in the mobile phones.

In developed countries, we have seen the smart phone category growing faster than other category of phones, what is the trend in India?
Though the essential phone segment is still dominating in India, the touch screen or smart phone categories are showing a sharp growth in India.
For example, we expect the touch screen market in India to double to 18 lakh units this year from eight lakh units last year.

Which are the segments on which the handset manufacturers are focusing now?
I think handset manufacturers are focusing on expanding the reach on the one hand and at the same time targeting different consumer needs amongst the evolved user base.

How many mobile phones models you will be launching in 2010?
We have launched around 43 models this year. We expect to launch a similar number of models in 2010.

How is the Indian market different from other markets, where you are operating?
The sheer size of the Indian market is huge. But it is a little different because the bulk of the buying happens in the open markets unlike the western countries, where the phones are offered tied in with the operator service.
Thus, the open market retail as a distribution channel becomes very significant in a market like India.
To that extent, the consumer interface with the brand and the dynamics entailed therein become that much more significant.

What is your take on the government’s decision to ban non-IMEI phones in India?
I think this initiative has been taken from the perspective of national security concerns and is a welcome initiative. It will encourage customers to go in for branded mobile products.

Do you see Indian mobile companies, which have cropped up in recent times occupying the space left vacant by the Chinese handset manufacturers due to this ban?
The banning of phones without IMEI numbers will naturally lead to consumers moving to branded mobile players, including the
new emerging players who have entered the market recently.

With nearly all companies into GSM, how do you see growth in the CDMA segment? Also do you see any possibility of exiting the CDMA space?
At Samsung, we will focus on manufacturing mobiles with both GSM and CDMA technology.
As far as the CDMA market is concerned, the entry of new players in the market as well as the introduction of OMH technology in the CDMA space will fuel the upgradation in the CDMA space and sustain growth in the segment.

How strong is the trend of people moving up the value chain in India in terms of handset?
There is replacement happening in the Indian market. Especially in metropolitan cities consumers are upgrading to better-featured newer handsets. The replacement cycle in my estimate would be around two years.