⚠️ What Went Wrong in a Market Once dominated by Korean Brands? In a market of around 17~18 Million units per annum and ₹30,000–35,000 crore market size..Indian TV market has been dominated for almost 2 and half decades by Korean brands. Having worked in TV product marketing at one of the top Korean consumer durable brand, I’ve seen the rise and the dominance which is seldom seen with brands in a mature category—and now feel really perturbed to see the steady retreat—of a legacy once admired across India. For 25 years, #Samsung and #LG weren’t just brands—they were the standard. From CRT to LCD to Plasma, LED to Smart TVs, QLED, OLED, 8K—they brought innovation that wowed Indian consumers. They dominated shelf space in modern retail. They built unmatched recall through #ATL & #BTL campaigns. They enjoyed deep trust across distribution and trade. But today, that foundation is cracking. Disruption at the Bottom of the Pyramid 📉 In FY25, Korean brands now account for just 32% of India’s volume market share—down from 45–50% half a decade ago. 📈Chinese brands #Xiaomi, #TCL, #Hisense #Haier etc now hold 35–40% volume share. 🇮🇳 Indian challengers like #Vu, #Thomson, #Onida ,#llyod are quietly taking over Tier 2/3 markets. Even #Sony has exited the mass segment. #Panasonic has scaled down dramatically. 💡 Korean Strategy Still Playing Catch-up Focused heavily on premium #QLED/#OLED while mid-tier got squeezed. Limited “India-first” innovation in the sub-₹25K segment. 🧨 Where Did the Slip Begin? * Confusion in #GTM :Lack of clarity in GTM strategy across offline & online *Delayed response to the ₹20K economy, where 70% of TV volume now lies *Online Offline conflict due to price variance *Channel partners lost faith—distributors and retailers felt confused, unsupported, demotivated * Pricing policies and product strategy failed to respond to the speed of disruption *Focus shifted from Sellout to Sell in 📉 This Isn’t Just a Market Loss—It’s a Relevance Crisis The products didn’t fail. The approach did. The consumer evolved—and Korean giants stayed anchored to yesterday’s playbook. India doesn’t want just prestige on the wall. It wants performance, pricing, and platform relevance—delivered fast. The Korean think tank must reflect. Because the decline wasn’t inevitable. It was ignored. #TVIndustry #SmartTV #ConsumerDurables #IndiaRetail #BrandDisruption #Samsung #LG #Xiaomi #VU #Sony #Panasonic #MakeInIndia #Electronics #RetailStrategy #Leadership #ProductManagement #GTM #Distribution #OfflineVsOnline #BusinessRealityCheck Samsung India LG India Xiaomi India Hisense India Mallikarjuna Rao B V Pankaj Rana TCL Electronics India SATISH. N.S RAJESH RATHI
Very true Mr. Sarabhai. It turns out that during the early days when CRT market was at it's peak, Indian players like Onida, Videocon, BPL who at that time period dominated were not keen to focus on the new tech of LCD, LED & plasma. This hesitation allowed Samsung, LG, and Sony to gain rapid traction and consumer trust with advanced offerings. Fast forward post 2020, LG, Samsung & Sony, though had a technological advantage and new lineups, they focused more on the premium seg. with bulk of the margins. Meanwhile, brands like Thomson, Vu, and Hisense offered similar technology at more competitive prices, appealing to value-conscious consumers. LFR's introduced their own TV brands, intensifying price competition. This led to a highly fragmented market, where consumers benefited from better tech at lower costs. But I also believe, that the content viewing now is more data driven & through digital mediums over the handset.. gone are the days when the family used to sit together and watch television. Today, content consumption is individualized and data-driven, primarily through smartphones and digital platforms. Television has become a secondary screen, used occasionally for shared experiences like sports or movies.
Key Reasons for Volume Dilution of Korean 1. Channel Restriction: With mobile outlets increasingly entering the TV retail space, Korean brands continue to focus solely on GT appliance sub-dealers, missing out on the growing GT mobile sub-dealer segment, where Chinese mobile brands are rapidly gaining share. 2. Unbalanced Pricing Strategy: Excessive pricing support to LFR (Large Format Retail) has created significant price disparities between LFR and GT channels. This has led to discontent among GT partners. As a result, GT channel partners are shifting their focus to other local brands that offer more stable pricing policies and less presence in LFR, ensuring better profitability and channel trust.