Why smartphone, TV brands are dialing down launches in India
What's the story
Smartphone and television manufacturers are cutting down on their product portfolios in India, owing to rising component costs and declining demand, as per Moneycontrol. The trend could lead to a significant reduction in new product launches this year, with brands focusing more on profitability and efficiency than aggressive growth. "This shift is being driven by both supply-side pressures and demand-side factors such as inventory correction," said Sumit Kumar from Counterpoint Research.
Strategy shift
Brands are spacing out their launches and clearing existing inventory
Instead of launching new models frequently, brands are now spacing out their launches and clearing existing inventory. Chinese brands Xiaomi and Realme have already adopted this strategy to focus on a leaner portfolio and regain market share. Tecno and Infinix, which heavily target the entry-level segment, are under pressure to prune low-end SKUs due to rising costs.
Response
Even market leaders like Samsung are streamlining portfolios
Even market leaders such as Samsung are streamlining parts of their entry portfolios to reduce overlap and improve margins. The biggest impact of this trend is seen in the ₹10,000-₹20,000 segment. Brands are becoming more selective, focusing on fewer high-impact models within each price band rather than carrying multiple overlapping variants.
Market dynamics
Rising input costs have accelerated consolidation
The rising input costs have made it difficult for brands like Xiaomi, Realme, Tecno, Lava, and Infinix to sustain multiple low-margin SKUs in entry segments. This has further accelerated consolidation. India's smartphone prices have been rising since November due to the surging memory costs with increases of up to 40% across 180+ SKUs and an average 15% hike over October.
Market impact
Rising costs hit offline demand the hardest
The rising prices have hit offline demand the hardest, lowering footfalls and conversions, delaying purchases, and pushing consumers toward older/cheaper models. Retailers are also prioritizing faster-moving models from the top brands while avoiding slow-moving inventory. A similar trend is seen in the television market where smaller budget brands are cutting back portfolios to manage rising component costs and margin pressures.