After three decades in India marked by manufacturing scale-up, R&D expansion and local design capabilities, Samsung is preparing for what it sees as the next phase of its India journey – one centred on connected devices, smartthings and AI-led ecosystems. This push comes even as the consumer electronics and smartphone industry faces signs of stagnation amid inflationary pressures and uneven demand recovery.
Speaking at a media roundtable on Tuesday, JB Park, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “The next phase is about transformation”. Apart from the focus on connected devices, exports are expected to play a larger role in the coming years. He said that around 50% of smartphones manufactured by Samsung in India are exported, with the remainder serving domestic demand.
Park said that the company expects to outperform the broader market by gaining share in key categories such as smartphones, consumer electronics and network equipment, despite a challenging industry outlook in 2026.
He said calendar year 2025 began cautiously, with urban demand under pressure and global trade uncertainty weighing on sentiment.
“Due to reciprocal tariffs between the US and India, there was a negative industry outlook initially and India was among the worst affected Asian countries,” he said. Demand conditions improved after the government announced GST cuts, particularly benefiting categories such as televisions and air conditioners.
“Earlier, TVs and ACs were seen as non-essential or luxury products, unlike refrigerators and smartphones,” Park said. “The GST cuts helped change that perception and made these products more accessible.”
From local assembly to deep component localisation
Samsung, he added, recorded double-digit growth during the festive season, with air conditioners seeing three-digit growth, aided by rising penetration of larger screens and cooling products.
Electronics manufacturing continues to be a core pillar of Samsung’s India strategy. Park said the company is among the leaders in local value addition in smartphone manufacturing, though deeper localisation depends on the strength of the supplier ecosystem.
“There are more than 5 million parts involved in making a smartphone. We can’t do everything alone,” he said, adding that Samsung is working closely with partners to localise more components over time.
Beyond assembly, Samsung has already brought a critical part of the value chain to India. At its Samsung Display facility in Noida, the company manufactures OLED displays for smartphones, with Park noting that 100% of these displays are made locally. He described the facility as a significant milestone in Samsung’s localisation efforts.
On regulatory and policy matters, Park said Samsung aligns itself closely with government directives. “Whether it is privacy, PLI or investment-related policies, we always go along with government policy,” he said.
In home appliances, localisation is critical to cost competitiveness given the size of the Indian market. Samsung currently exports appliances from India to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, while also working to reduce internal logistics costs.
On investments, Park said Samsung has multiple funding options available and does not view an IPO as the only route. He also said the company has not been affected by recent concerns around rare earth magnet supply.
Scaling exports and a renewed product roadmap
Reflecting on Samsung’s India journey, Park said the first phase focused on manufacturing and sales, followed by R&D expansion with centres in Delhi, Noida and Bengaluru, and later design capabilities for mass-market products.
While the overall industry may see flat or even negative growth next year, Park said Samsung remains focused on sustaining double-digit growth. “If the pie is not growing, you have to cut a bigger piece of the pie,” he said.