Samsung has officially made an entry to mobile accessories market in Dhaka.
This report in the Daily Star quotes Samsung Bangladesh official saying that customers in Dhaka often face challenges in finding original accessories for their Samsung phones “such as phone covers, screen protectors, level box speakers, headphones, power banks and car chargers” and often end up buying subpar products of similar use-case and go through unnecessary hassles. This reality is about to change. From now on, Samsung users can buy original Samsung accessories for their phones from Samsung brand shops across the country.
Accessories are big business. Some estimate says it is a market of the north of BDT 2500 crore. With the growth of Smartphone penetration over the past years, an entire industry has been established based on the growing demand for accessories.
Except for Xiaomi and a few other brands, most accessories are Chinese products imported and sold by small retailers. There are big businesses in this category. Retailers usually import these accessories in bulk from China and sell through the retail distribution channel.
It is easy to see that this space is growing. More people are buying smartphones and more people are buying phone covers and other accessories. In many instances, the demand for these products is growing even at a faster rate than the mobile handset itself. As demand grows, it is likely that more brands will pay attention to this segment.
For Samsung, this is a natural move. It has a strong smartphone business in Dhaka, which means there is a demand for its accessories as well. According to BMPIA, Samsung continues to lead the smartphone market in terms of value in Dhaka. It accounted for 26% of the value of total handsets imported in 2017 followed by Symphony’s 21%. In terms of the number of handsets imported, Samsung was in the second position with a 14% market share.
Up until now, these 26% customers used to buy accessories for Samsung phones from regular shops, mostly third-party made products. With Samsung’s official entry, customers can now choose to buy original Samsung accessories for their phones from Samsung brand shops.
The challenge for Samsung, however, will be the price. Original products are usually costly which many customers may not prefer. And if you are buying it from a brand shop, it will always be pricier than a regular retailer.
Having said that, a genuine Samsung push for accessories business will certainly create some challenge for existing mobile accessories sellers in Dhaka. And if Samsung could take a slice of the existing accessories business, that’s a win for the company.
Source: The Daily Star, Future Startup
