India’s top smartphone and consumer electronics makers said they are gearing the highest number of new products launches this year in four years as supply of components have improved and are almost back to pre-Covid levels.
LG, Samsung, Xiaomi, Panasonic, Realme, Vivo and Godrej Appliances are all planning one of the highest numbers of new model launches this year, company and industry executives said.
New launches took a backseat last year due to poor component supplies owing to global surge in demand for electronics that neither the companies nor component makers could forecast.
Containers from China were getting held up with Indian custom authorities in ports and airports for scrutiny after border clashes and a fiscal quarter was lost due to lockdown and overall innovation pipeline slowing down due to the pandemic.
The shortage was particularly severe for semiconductors used in smartphones, laptops and televisions, which too has started to ease now with component and chip makers expanding capacities, taking into account the increased demand in 2020, the executives said.
However, television panel shortages still plague entry-level sizes.
Godrej Appliances business head, Kamal Nandi, said component issues are clearly no more a challenge with vendors increasing production due to a fantastic last quarter. “As a result, new launches will get a massive boost this year,” he said.
Smartphone maker Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth said the pent-up demand of 1.5 to 1.7 times the usual post-lockdown has normalised and demand is now back to pre-Covid level. “The component supply situation for smartphones has also become normal,” he said.
India’s largest appliance maker, LG Electronics India’s vice president, Vijay Babu, said it will roll out the highest number of innovations since the last 4-5 years in categories like AC, washing machine and refrigerator. The new models are launched on the health and hygiene platform due to the pandemic.
Realme will be launching multiple 5G smartphones across price points, personal care products like trimmers, wearables and TWS audio products. Vivo too has lined up the highest number of new smartphone launches as has Xiaomi, which has plans to enter new categories like appliances, industry executives said.
Godrej will launch three times the number of new products in 2021 at around 150 compared to last year and almost 10% more than in 2019.
Llyod India CEO Shashi Arora said there is still a shortage of television panels with prices going through the roof, especially for 22-32-inch models. “This is likely to continue till March at least,” he said.
The consumer electronics industry recorded decade high sales of home appliances in July-December and one of the highest ever in the Diwali quarter as per data by market researcher GfK India. For smartphones, the value growth was the highest since 2011 in the same period, the researcher said.
Sales of air-conditioners grew 25%, refrigerators 15%, microwave ovens 39% and washing machines 24% by the number of units sold between July to December, while smartphones grew by 11% in value, said GfK, which tracks actual sales.
Manish Sharma, president & CEO, Panasonic India said in the backdrop of the PLI schemes, we are seeing a lot of activities in MSME space where companies are looking to set up component manufacturing ensuring maximum backward integration to drive the vision of self-reliant India.
"At Panasonic too, we are taking significant steps towards this whether by setting up backward integration or helping MSME’s with technical know-how," said Sharma.
Vivo India director (brand strategy) Nipun Marya said after a challenging year, the company is hopeful that the market will rebound in 2021.
"We are already seeing a surge in demand amongst the consumers and witnessing positive growth in the industry and economy...For our product strategy, we shall continue to provide smartphones across price points that are best-in-segment when it comes to design and camera features. We shall remain invested in India for the long-run, and continue to sell devices that are made in India," said Marya.