Showing posts with label Samsung. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samsung. Show all posts

Friday, January 11, 2013

A lesson taught ...and learnt?

from the ceo to the office boy, from the business tycoon to the paan waala, from urban to rural; mobile handsets have travelled a great distance in india, and so has nokia. but thanks to the latest twists in the tale, nokia may need to adapt quite a bit very soon

The ‘Black & White’ era went into decline mode in India way back in 1982, when the first colour TV sets were introduced on the occasion of the Asiad Games (movies were already in colour, though; interestingly, India’s first indigenously produced colour film was Kishan Kanya; way back in 1937). But the ‘grey’ era continues to be strong till date. Not on your screens, my friend, but in markets. Ask the MNCs and they will recount, in horror, countless stories on how the grey market has, time and again, wreaked havoc with their plans.

And that was just the beginning of Nokia’s quagmires when it entered the Indian market in 1995. It was a market where mobile phones and services were a luxury item. With the prices that these models commanded, you could get a decent second hand Fiat car in those days!

There were a few key planks on which Nokia played its cards, and played them well. Firstly, they developed phones specifically for the Indian market, with durability to withstand Indian conditions and features like torch, vernacular SMS, news feeds, et al. Also, with other players like LG, Sony and Samsung being perceived as diversified consumer electronic companies, Nokia scored heavily on the fact that it had a core focus on mobile phones & developed strong brand equity.

Also, it developed phones for all price points. They backed this up with an intensive distribution strategy and were greatly helped by the tie up with HCL Technologies. “We realised that one of the main challenges was the geographical spread of the consumer and hence we invested extensively towards overcoming this challenge,” reveals Vineet Taneja, Director, Marketing Nokia India.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPMMalay Chaudhuri
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Monday, November 19, 2012

Too Lee’ttle, too...

Lee’s exit looks positive, hopefully the law will take its course

‘Once bitten, twice confident’ – Though antipodal, the tad goes well with Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of the world’s largest electronic company – Samsung Electronics. Lee, son of Samsung group founder Lee Byung-chul, resigned from his post on April 21, 2008 following his alleged involvement in the slush funds scandal. And along with him resigned his son and heir to the company, Lee Jae-yong and Vice Chairman Lee Hak-soo. But before one thinks that the allegations against Chairman Lee might be a mite too heavy (as being opined by company insiders and even some analysts), one perhaps forgets that in 1996, Lee was fully convicted on the charges of bribing ex-presidents of South Korea. It was only a presidential pardon (!) that allowed him to return to the company, and that too, at the helm of affairs! But the bigger question now is, will Lee’s resignation actually work positively for the group? Or is it the clichéd tale of too Lee’ttle, too late?

An alumnus of George Washington University, Lee took over the baton in 1988. It was under his leadership that Samsung Electronics became one of world’s leading manufacturers of semiconductors. In January 2008, a special investigation was carried out, instigated by Samsung’s former Chief Lawyer Kim Yong-chul, after he issued public allegations of financial irregularities. Lee has been charged with hiding 4.5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) slush funds & clandestinely using it to bribe influential South Koreans and politicians. He has also been accused of siphoning off 112.8 billion won ($113 million) to his personal accounts.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.