Vineet Taneja was recently appointed as the head of Samsung India’s mobile and digital imaging business. His appointment comes at a time when Samsung has rapidly grown in this market to become the biggest phone maker.

Taneja has the task to sustain the growth momentum given the huge challenge from the likes of Apple, Nokia, HTC and BlackBerry, all of whom have trained their eyes on the growing smartphone market in India. Business Line spoke with Taneja for the first time after his appointment to know how he plans to take the business forward.

Samsung has now launched the Galaxy S4, less than a year after it launched the S3. What’s driving this fast pace of newer versions?

It’s a combination of things. If you look at the last couple of years, the speed at which new products and features have come in is very fast. Four years back, the mobile market in India was largely a first time buyers market. Simplicity was the feature. Today, 80 per cent of the market is replacement. Therefore, expectations are high as consumers are always looking for what’s new. In addition, technology advancement has meant that every 6-9 months there is something significantly new to offer. We are on the cusp of a second revolution where smartphones will take off.

It has already happened in other countries and it will happen in India now. Also, 3G network in India is now robust. All stars are aligned for the next revolution.

What could be the stumbling blocks in achieving this revolution?

We can do a lot more on content. Today, content is largely in English. We will drive this change. For example, Samsung Hub now has regional content. Going forward we will keep supporting developers. The other major issue is lack of credit card which makes it difficult for users to buy content. We will partner with operators to work this out.

Do you think telecom operators need to take a more prominent role in pushing smartphones, for example through subsidy?

In India, subsidy will not work because security is low. When you give subsidy the fear is that he will unlock the phone and disappear. At best, subsidy can come at the top-end where credit worthiness is established. To be fair, telecom companies have had to shell out obscene amount of money on spectrum and network so they do not have cash for other things. However, things are changing as operators’ focus is now to grow data rates and there’s a direct co-relation between data growth and the sophistication of smartphones.

How will you deal with the issue of enabling developers to monetise content?

That ecosystem is not working so we need to work it out. We want to influence that and you will see some big moves from us in this space. If you look at Samsung Hub, we host a lot of content. Currently, it can be bought on credit card. We will partner with operators to enable operator billing.

How will you ensure that Samsung keeps its number one position?

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Speed to market and innovation is the key. Basically, getting new products and then go to market. We would do things to make an impact and at a big scale that makes us stronger. Industry is not what it was so if you don’t do things at a big scale you wont move the needle.

What will be your focus area?

Our retail experience will be big focus area. There was a time when we used to have one type of stores. Today, we have different types of retail channel ranging from our own experience stores to mom-and-pop outlets. So managing this channel will be key. Smartphone customers need to touch and feel and for that we need to invest a lot to give that experience to customers. We are investing in live devices, we are training promoters to explain the features to consumers. Gone are those days when you could advertise and then push the product into the market and hope consumers will buy it.

Is S4 the biggest launch for Samsung ?

Yes, it’s just keeps getting bigger. In terms of expectation of numbers, it is the biggest. This could change the smartphone market dynamics.

thomas.thomas@thehindu.co.in

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