Samsung launched its Galaxy M-series smartphones in India to counter the massive decline in sales volume recorded in the last few financial quarters. The M-series that was introduced this year is an online exclusive and is sold via Amazon, Flipkart, and the official Samsung website in the subcontinent. The only offline retailers selling the M-series are the Samsung Experience Stores located throughout the country. However, that could change soon as the chaebol is planning to introduce the next Galaxy M device through its third-party offline retail chain in 2020.

According to a post by The Economic Times, offline retail unions have demanded major smartphone manufacturers like Samsung, OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi start working with them again. The recent discounts and online-exclusive launches have hit the offline market quite bad, which is now recording a sales decline of nearly 30 – 40%. 

The country’s trade organizations like the All India Mobile Retailers Association and All India Traders recently voiced their concerns regarding the destructive online pricing strategy. The aggressive pricing, especially during the holiday season, is encouraging people to purchase smartphones online, further bleeding the offline stores.

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Samsung decided to heed the demands of its offline retail partners and sell the upcoming Galaxy M-series smartphones through offline stores as well. Representatives from Samsung India’s mobile phone business team informed retailers about this decision via WhatsApp on Friday. The government had earlier warned ecommerce platforms against disruptive pricing. Smartphone manufacturers are finally starting to take heed.

In related news, Samsung is gearing up to launch its next M-series device in India. The chaebol recently sent a notification to its retail partners in the subcontinent that read, “We look forward to providing the next M-series smartphone at the same price and at the same time. We shall assess the value proposition for our retail partners and consumers and plan our course of action accordingly”. Despite the details being far from clear, Samsung will most-likely introduce the Galaxy M50 on Nov. 15. The smartphone will be sold via online and offline retailers.

Although details of the Galaxy M50 are unknown, its specifications are slated to be a notch higher than the Galaxy M40 that it succeeds. The M40 flaunts a 6.3-inch full-HD+ display with a punch-hole camera with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 certification. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 675 chipset with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage, expandable up to 512GB with a microSD card. The smartphone features a triple-camera setup at the rear consisting of 32-megapixel, 8-megapixel and 5-megapixel sensors. The front camera uses a 16-megapixel lens. Powering the Galaxy M40 is a 3,500 mAh battery with fast charging. The device runs on Android 9.0 Pie-based One UI. Security measures include a fingerprint scanner on the rear panel and Face Unlock.

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