INNOVATING FOR THE WORLD

For Samsung, India is much more than a market; it is also a hub for manufacturing and R&D.

- VIDHI TAPARIA

THE YEAR 1995 was all about choices in India. You could choose to buy cosmetics from Revlon, the Cielo sedan from Daewoo, or televisions from Sony or Akai. These were the fruits of liberalisation, with foreign brands flocking to India. It was also the year that Samsung chose to quietly enter India, setting up its first office in Delhi with just two employees. The mission: manufacture colour TVs.

In the mid-1990s, the South Korean giant, too, had to make choices as it sought to establish a foothold in the US and Europe. The search was on for a philosophy needed to build a brand. “The upcoming 21st century marks the Age of Culture, an era in which intellectual assets will determine a company’s worth. No longer is a company selling products. Instead, it has to sell its philosophy and culture,” then Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee, said in his New Year’s address in 1996, writes Geoffrey Cain in his book Samsung Rising. The chairman declared 1996 the Year of the Design Revolution, signalling a shift towards connecting every device through design, software, content, and user experience.

The same year, Samsung decided to take an early bet on India, establishing not just its first manufacturing facility in Noida, but also its first R&D centre in Bengaluru (then called Bangalore).

Fast forward to now, and India is not just a market for Samsung but a key supplier to its growing global demand. From a modest start, Samsung India Electronics Ltd (SIEL) has grown to achieve a revenue of ₹1,01,589 crore in FY24. “Over the decades, India has not just been a market for us—it has been a partner in innovation, a hub of manufacturing, and a centre for research and development. And we will continue to invest in India,” says J.B. Park, president & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia.