Samsung India, a leading consumer electronics maker, expects double-digit year-on-year growth in the second half of this year, driven by strong festive season demand and premiumisation across its home appliances portfolio, a top company executive said on Wednesday.
The company is encouraged by its festive sales in 2026, which started with Onam in Kerala and are expected to continue the momentum, said Samsung India Vice President, Digital Appliances Business, Ghufran Alam.
Alam said consumer sentiment has remained positive despite inflationary pressures and global uncertainties, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, asserting that the company’s numbers “remain very robust currently”.
“Independence Day sales, which were before the Onam period (August 26), we have seen robust demand. So, Diwali also, and coming festivals also, we see good growth prospects for the appliances business in India,” Alam said in a media roundtable here.
According to Alam, Onam, which marks the beginning of the nearly two-month-long festive season encompassing Dussehra and Diwali, was good for the industry, with Samsung registering “quite high double-digit growth” during the period.
When asked about the outlook for H2 of 2026, Alam said the company expects “robust double-digit growth” over the year-ago period, citing encouraging trends seen during the Onam festive season and Independence Day sales.
“Looking at what we have done in Onam and what we have seen in Independence Day sales also, we see robust double-digit growth. That is what we are expecting currently,” he noted.
On the pricing front, Alam said that despite inflationary pressures amid a sharp rise in commodity prices, particularly copper, Samsung does not have any immediate plans for a price hike ahead of the festive season.
“Whether we are going to increase the price in Diwali or before the festival, we do not have any kind of, at this moment, we do not know currently, because it is all very dynamic,” he said, adding that price calibration was an ongoing, dynamic process rather than a one-time exercise.
Alam said premiumisation continues to be the dominant trend in the market, with average selling prices (ASP) growing faster than volumes, even as entry-level and mass segments hold steady rather than shrink.
“Data shows that this is growing faster irrespective of whatever is happening in the market,” he said, adding that consumers across rural and urban India were increasingly upgrading to premium brands, aided by no-cost EMI options.
Alam expects room air conditioners (RAC), a category in which Samsung re-entered last season, to remain the fastest-growing category for Samsung’s appliances business in the second half as well, followed by washing machines and refrigerators.
This is on account of a small base and a trend of continued demand due to a “second summer” in southern India and Diwali purchases.
Within the refrigerator category, the French door (four-door) and side-by-side segments are witnessing the fastest growth, particularly in capacities of 450 litres and above, he said.
In washing machines, consumers are increasingly upgrading to higher-capacity models of 10-14 kg across both front-load and top-load categories.
On new launches, Alam said Samsung has introduced two new premium and super-premium air conditioner models, a cassette AC and a room AC, for the festive season. The company has also enhanced the AI capabilities of its “Family Hub” refrigerators with Gemini integration, expanding food recognition beyond the earlier 30-35 items detected through on-device AI.
Generally, the festive period covering Onam through Dussehra and Diwali typically contributes 30–40 per cent of the annual sales of appliance manufacturers, according to sector reports.