Samsung aims to maintain dominance with new TV

JAKARTA. South Korean electronics giant Samsung is looking to maintain its dominant market share in the flat panel television market with the launch of the 78-inch Curved UHD TV for the Indonesian premium market.

PT Samsung Electronics Indonesia (SEIN) consumer electronics business director Bernard Ang said that Samsung currently possessed over a 34 percent share in the Indonesian flat panel television market as of the second quarter of 2014 and held a 52 percent premium segment market share in the same period.

“We are fortunate to be experiencing steady growth in the Indonesian premium segment. The growth was partly due to the current trend of curved televisions,” Bernard told The Jakarta Post at the launch of the 78-inch Curved UHD TV at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

The UHD televisions are a format that displays an aspect ratio of at least 16:9, installed with at least one digital input capable of carrying and presenting native video at a minimum resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 pixels.

On account of the curved television trend, Samsung would focus on the design and ergonomics of its TV products, according to Bernard.

The company previously launched 55-inch and 65-inch curved TVs in April.

According to SEIN product marketing manager Veralya Suanto, the company will launch a 105-inch version of its Curved TV series sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.

“The product will not become a mass product because it has a niche market in the premium segment,” she said when asked for a sales target.

Sales of Samsung’s premium consumer electronics devices grew 39 percent last year, while the mass segment rose by 23 percent.

“It shows that the positive six years of very good GDP [gross domestic product] growth in Indonesia is now driving premium purchase behavior among consumers,” Bernard has previously said.

Samsung’s current approach toward its curved television series was to align it with aspects of interior design and spatial presence. The curved TV was meant to be a centerpiece in a customer’s living room.

For the 78-inch model, the company commissioned the help of interior designer Eko Priharseno to design a room that highlighted the product’s aesthetic quality.

“For a curved television, you won’t need to adjust it that much in a square- or rectangular-shaped room because it doesn’t take as much space, as say, an oval-shaped room,” Eko told the Post on Thursday.

Furthermore, he also noted that because Samsung curved televisions were meant to be showcased; the televisions were devised purposefully as standalone products instead of wall-mounted.

The 78-inch Curved UHD TV is priced at Rp 129,999,000 [US$10,659] and will be available in stores in November. (dyl/nvn)