Aswini Umamaheswaran

Abheek Biswas
Bishnendu Roy
Nithin S Nair

INDIAN LAPTOP MARKET

Team 10
Laptops are handy and compact. These portable computers are easy to carry anywhere. They
are also known as 'notebook computers.' An increasing number of computer operators are
switching to laptops for easy working. Laptops in India have become widely popular and
essential for every business in the last few years. The laptop prices in India are very competitive,
as many brands are vying to capture the market in cities and small towns. As technology
advances, price of newer models raise the bar for rivals. It also allows previous models to be
sold at more affordable prices.
The price of laptops in India is more or less similar to other markets in the world. But some brands
are cheaper to buy in India. Laptops prices range from a bottom price of an assembled model
costing Rs. 20,000/- or Rs. 1, 25, 000/- for a premium multinational brand. There is also a
growing market for used laptop computers in India.
New Laptops computers ranging Rs.40000/- rupees in India are currently the most preferred
ones.
The usage of laptops increased once it reached the student community, which benefits s lot from
it. Laptops are trendy portables allowing mobile business to flourish. They are time saving
machines at the workplace or home. They can also be connected to the printer and the internet
which makes them better utility machines.
Laptop Market

According a Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), India's hardware

industry lobby, Indians have started purchasing notebook computers faster than the industry
would have thought, with notebook sales growing at 114 percent in the fiscal year 2007-08. This
excludes notebooks imported by professionals on their personal account.
In the first half of the current financial year, Indians bought nearly 680,000 notebooks,
compared to 36,000 units in the same period four years ago, said a recently released
performance review of MAIT. It added that the momentum in the Indian notebook market is
finally in sync with the global trend, where for the first time in 2005 notebook sales surpassed
desktops sales.
"Clearly, notebooks are competing with desktops with convenience and productivity scoring high",
said MAIT adding that notebook sales have also found their way into homes. So what's driving
this sudden awareness of notebooks? After all neither notebooks nor laptops are new to the
Indian IT users, and just like the desktops, computer makers were trying hard for years to push
sales of notebooks too.
"One of the biggest factor pushing sales for notebooks is the affordability factor or reduction in
prices" says Rajiev Grover, country category manager, Hewlett-Packard India. "India's personal
computer market is undergoing a major transition as premium notebook computers are being
brought to the mainstream, with almost half the prices, compared with a year ago."
On average, the prices of entry-level notebook computers now range between $800 to a little
over $1000 compared to $1500 to over $2000 that prevailed about 36 to 48 months back.
Moreover, notebooks now cost only around $200 more than a high-end desktop personal
computer, which is also driving many desktop buyers to opt for notebooks.
However, according to Vinnie Mehta, the executive director of MAIT, another key driver has
been the growth of newer professions, that not only require different working styles but also
mobile devices for anytime-anywhere computing.
"For instance many type the IT-enabled workers or back office workers (like medical transcription
workers) need not work out of an old fashioned office anymore. Similarly many financial and
marketing sector professionals need to be one the move always," says Mehta.
Other factors like government policies helped too. "For instance, the government now allows duty
free import of notebooks as personal baggage that has helped in increasing the notebook
penetration with the people becoming more aware of these devices," Mehta said. "The
government's focus on improving the IT infrastructure that has brought in technologies like wider
wireless network (WAN, WiFi), which allows linking up of mobile devices to the internet at any
place, has propelled its sales as well."
"The progression actually came from mobile phones, where people in India started to engage in
mobility as a part of their business," he added.
Industry sources say that desktops which was the "symbol of corporate vanity till the other day
are slowly becoming passé with notebooks now the mainstream."
And all this means that its party time for notebook vendors. But yet another important trend that
is emerging from this shift is that while the multinationals notebook vendors are experiencing
burgeoning sales, local notebook makers' cash registers aren't really ringing that loud.
"We don't expect notebook sales to match our desktops for quite some time," says Raj Saraf,
chairman and MD, Zenith Computers, a biggish local personal computer manufacturer that claims
to sell "MNC computers and local prices."
And the reason why MNC brand names are outselling local ones is that "we have been scoring
one up on the utility factor," said the local spokesperson of Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific. "They (MNC
brands) are growing and gaining the choice of the user not just because of the narrowing of the
prices between desktop and notebooks but also because we have amalgamated next generation
technologies like bluetooth and Wi-Fi with mobile computing to bring more utility to notebooks."
But it is also true that MNCV brands have been more aggressive sellers. "The last couple of years
have seen intense price wars, with leading brands including Acer, HP, Lenovo and Dell forever
racing to slash the price of their notebooks," says Mehta of MAIT.
Major Players

There is always a tussle between rival brands. Companies introduce new software programs and
upgraded versions regularly. Growing competition in technology has given a rise to generate
better quality laptops. The rapid expansion also makes a model redundant as quickly as two to
three months.

Dell
Dell is a known computer company worldwide. It is a branded diversified information technology
company. It stands number three in terms of selling products and comprehensive services to
customers globally. Dell India Pvt. Ltd set its ground in India, in the year 2000 by making
Bangalore its base.
Dell India ranked top in regards with sales and services by DQ-IDC Customer Satisfaction Audit.
Now, Dell is all set to create waves in launching new models of laptops.
The prices for dell laptop india notebooks match the quality they offer. They are more expensive
than the other brands as they are assembled and sent to the country. The duty has to be paid
and this makes the pricing a little higher. As the number of executives who globe trot have
increased the portable notebooks have become a part of their briefcases.
Dell has been one of the early companies to start production in Sriperumbuder near Chennai,
India. In Asia the other production centres are China and Malaysia. According to reports there
has been an increase of 30% of laptop users since 2005 in India. Like mobiles the PC market is
also set to see a retail revolution. As India production has begun there are chances of getting Dell
Computers at more competitive rates. They have dropped their prices by 11% to gain entry in
the Indian software market.

AMD
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) holds fort in IT world for the last three decades. It is based
in California, USA. It was founded in 1969. AMD came to Bangalore, India in 2004. Since then, it
is creating multi-core processors and is giving customer satisfaction.
This award winning company is the second largest supplier of x86 processors. AMD also is the
second largest supplier of Graphic Cards and GPUs. In the year 2006, among semiconductor
manufacturers, AMD ranked eighth.
AMD processors in laptops, are also known as 'notebook processors', include AMD Turion 64 X 2
Dual-Core Mobile Technology, which is especially made for mobility. AMD Athlon 64 X 2 Dual-
Core Processor for Notebook PCs, is affordable with Dual-Core performance for notebook PCs.
AMD is known best for its graphic image display. It can be advantageous for game lovers. AMD
processors have high battery backup and other advantages. AMD is soon to enter the world
market with a new and advanced range of integrated processors. Another reputed company
Toshiba is using the AMD chips for their computers and laptops.
The prices for AMD Laptops in India could be quite cheap in the next few years. The chip that
AMD makes rivals only Intel and in India they are trying to get more competitive. Just like Pepsi
and Coca cola the two companies are rugged in their approach to penetrating the software
giant country today. It is selling lower than Intel and this could swing a market slice in their favour
in time to come. With the use of AMD chips the laptops can come for as cheap as Rs. 10, 000/-.

Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation was founded in the year 1982 in USA. COMPAQ stands for
'compatibility and quality', a company formed by Jim Harris,Canion and Bill Murto.
Compaq is linked with Hewlett-Packard and the two merged in 2002. HP is the brand name for
Compaq worldwide.
HP in India was established in February 2002. The base was set up in Bangalore. The main aim
for this is to meet the needs of Information Technology of billion HP customers. Today, HP has
launched a series of Compaq laptops ranging from Rs. 20,000/- to Rs. 80,000/- with useful
features to met requirement of a huge customer base in the country. Many dealers and vendors
in the market are keen on lowering the prices to get more customers.
With the reduction of import duties and customs in India the computer vendors are giving
discounts to their customers. Laptops companies that never bent rules or lowered prices are able
to do so now. Hence the benefit is passed to the end user. Prices for Compaq Laptops in India
have witnessed many drops since 2004. Many consumers who fear that due to lack of sales the
PC companies are lowering their prices are not entirely a myth. As the market in India shows an
upward trend companies are looking at increasing the market shares.
With the entry of Compaq computers and other multinationals the local companies may lose a
sizable customer base. International brands have now less to pay at the entry level in the country.
Unbranded vendors are now looking at further slashing their prices when branded names like HP
and Compaq are all set to conquer the competition.

Sony Vaio
Even an uninitiated person can identify smart Sony VAIO laptops in India. Reason? Its attractive
looks have made it a status symbol for some top travelling executives. The colour choices replete
with upgraded technology and features have made it viable for the company to even sell their
premium range of laptops at more
than Rs. 1,00,000/-.Sony has been a very in-your-face brand for many years in India. With
other electronic products this Japanese giant has garnered more customer base for their new
laptop division in the country.
The VAIO CR series have a colour palette of red, blue, soft white, powder pink and classic black.
Young India has certainly noticed this and covets it more than the highly rated mobiles. It has a
range of in-built multimedia, entertainment, Av mode, bright LCD lights, built in webcam, and
simple interface for blogging. Prices for Sony laptop india are equally eye catching!
It starts with Rs. 55, 000/- with additional features at extra costs. Since they know that there is
enough competition in the country from America and local computers they have reasonable
prices. The end models for one lakh and above are unique and can be found with select dealers.
Buoyed by the response form all customers Sony is now going to pump in more money to
introduce more sleeker models.
Laptops shipment into the city harbours increased from 25 % to 40 %. While rivals like HP is still
dominant Sony is proving to be a tough competitor. No doubt the attractive looks will fetch more
cool customers for the brand.

HCL
Technology is thrashing it self with each passing day and admiring its own potential. The pinnacle
of contentment lies in more complex but easy to use gadgets to be developed. Moving along
with technology HCL India is validating themselves to be best in the Indian market. Advanced
technology and latest market trend is blessing HCL laptops India.
Laptops are the mainspring of our life and in this technological era, life without laptops or
notebooks is unimaginable. When we think of buying laptops or notebooks from the Indian
market, HCL Laptop India sparks our mind with innovation, technology and high end features. It is
considered to be one of the best and the leading laptops in the domestic market.
Advanced technology and requirements of Indian customers have compelled HCL to offer the
latest technology implemented in laptops/notebook. HCL computers India laptops is providing
stylish, jazzy and powerful laptops, keeping in the mind the needs and demands of Indian
customers.
Each and every single piece of laptop designed and manufactured by HCL is unique in its own
way. It is believed that these laptops are providing their metal in the electronic industry because
of there fully functional technology and key drivers.
The key HCL Laptop drivers are the three basic features that HCL implements in all their models.
These features are slim, light and power. The brand is acclaimed for making the slimmest and
light-weight laptops in India. They also implement highly technology oriented power and add
colors to their models.
All these features, attractive colors, ravishing look and high end technology integrated together
gives over the edge advantage to HCL laptops in Indian market. The brand also know the art of
advertising and promoting their products. HCL India has the power and ability to beat the
competitive market and win accolades.
PRESENT MARKET PICTURE
SALES GROWTH
‰ Annual sales has grown by 114%; CAGR: 104%
‰ Households: 44% of the market growing at 150%,
‰ Businesses: 56% of the market growing at 93%
SALES GROWTH - CITY WISE

Notebooks are rapidly penetrating the markets

beyond the 4 metros at a growth rate of 152%
GLOBAL MARKET SHARE

Q’1 TOP NINE BRAND NOTEBOOK COMPUTER SHIPMENTS
INDIAN MARKET SHARE
World Scenario
Hewlett Packard (HP-20.8%) holds a lead of 5.7% over Dell (15.1%) with Acer (14.6%) trotting
closely behind. Highest YOY increase was achieved by Asus (67%), Apple (61%) and Lenovo
(58%). With only Sony (3%) faltering on YOY growth all the other major players had close to
40% growth. Statistics indicate that HP is going to have a tough road ahead to maintain its lead
in the laptop market.

Indian Scenario
In the lines of the global scenario, Hewlett Packard (HP) still maintains the top slot in India with a
market share of 37.8 per cent, while Lenovo (16%) occupied the second position and Acer (10%)
third.
Notebook PC sale in home and `Small Office and Home Office' (SOHO) segments grew by 166
per cent and made up 43 per cent of the total business. The next largest contributors were
enterprise and education segments.
 GOVERNMENT POLICIES
‰ Laptops are covered under Information Technology Agreement-I (ITA-1)
and have enjoyed exemption from basic customs duty on import.
‰ Excise duty:
duty Complete exemption for local manufacturers from excise
duty. Imported computers subject to additional customs duty (levied in
lieu of excise duty) equivalent to 7%.
‰ VAT: Computers have a concessional rate of 4% (importance attached to
the IT sector in India).
‰ Tax changes: Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime to take place in
2010. GST would ensure a simpler and more transparent tax regime
and address issues concerning cascading of taxes
taxes, multiple compliances,
compliances
etc.
‰ The Finance Bill, 2008 has p
proposed
p to include computers,
p including
g
laptops, under the MRP regime of excise.
MARKET SEGMENTATION
NOTEBOOK CONSUMPTION IN BUSINESS –
B Employee
By E l SSize

‰ Overall consumption in the business grew by 41%

‰ Consumption
p in large
g and medium enterprises
p grew
g byy 66%
and 61% respectively, however in small enterprises it declined
by 10%
 NOTEBOOK CONSUMPTION IN BUSINESS –
B Enterprise
By E Size
S

‰ Overall consumption growth in the Businesses Segment was 16%

‰ Sales to large enterprises grew by 25%; to medium enterprises
b 11%
by
‰ Sales declined in small enterprises by 7%
 SECTIONAL PROFILE OF
HOUSEHOLD NOTEBOOK BUYERS
‰ Overall household market increased by 164%
‰ Sales to SEC A increased by
y 161% and to SEC B byy 296%
‰ Sales to SEC C in 2007-08 were negligible
BASED ON GEOGRAPHY
‰ PC consumption in both West and South grew by
39% each. In East, it grew by 10% while in North, it
declined by 13%.
BASED ON GENDER
Global information technology giant Hewlett-Packard
(HP) is set to launch its special lines of products,
targeting women and the youth in India.
“Women usually y look for easyy mobility y and sleek
looks, so the women’s product line will be based on
those premises. Texture of the body of the laptop is
another factor that women take into consideration
while purchasing, so our products will reflect that
that”..
BASED ON AGE AND LIFE CYCLE
Kid’s laptops are very popular now-a-days. Some
of the laptops in market are:
‰ StarWars Darth Vader Laptop
‰ VTech Double Vision Notebook

‰ VTech Nitro Notebook

‰ Hot Wheels Accelerator 5.0

5 0 Learning Laptop

Though
g much market has not been created,, there is
lot of scope of exploring this segment.
MAJOR MARKET PLAYERS AND STRATEGY
HEWLETT PACKARD
STRENGTHS WEAKNESS
Leadership Position. Low Flexibility: Unlike Dell, HP does not
Consumer Centric Brand. have high
g
Strong after sales service. customization available.
Design Strategy: looks. Decline in digital entertainment market.
Cost Strategy. Software Service.

OPPORTUNITY THREATS
PC business. Pricing pressure.
Service Industry: Bought Component pricing.
W ld’ no.2
World’s 2 service
i provider,
id Sl revenue growth.
Slow h
EDS.
 HP – Market Strategy
‰ Mission: Maintain Status Quo as market leader, and continually innovate to
strengthen position.
‰ Products: Notebooks, Tablet PCs, Desktops, Gaming Systems, Printers, Toner,
Paper, Scanners, Monitors, Servers, Software, Networking, Accessories.
‰ Pricing: Oracle’s Siebel technology reducing marketing spends by 15%. Cut
notebook
b k prices by
b 15 to 20% creating a volatile
l l price war.
‰ Promotion: Innovative word of mouth marketing called the 31 days of
dragon.
d ago . Associates
ssoc a es with
w various
va ous Hollywood
o ywood themes
e es too target
a ge movie
ov e going
go g
audience.
‰ Place: Uses online method for booking. Has outlets in major cities.
‰ Product Development: HP has launched aggressively into the Indian market.
Ease of availability.
‰ Diversification: M&A: In August 2001 HP and Compaq came together to
merge by 25 billion $ stock deal.
DELL
STRENGTHS WEAKNESS
Inventory turnover rate is 6 days. No proprietary technology.
Revenue Growth at 100%. High dependency on component suppliers.
C t efficiency.
Cost ffi i Lack of Software Support for customers.
Direct to customer business model: minimum
credit risk.
Latest technology
gy Customization.
Internet sales leadership: $5M everyday,
worldwide.

OPPORTUNITY
Network service in B2B.
Strong potential in China and India.
Low costs and advanced technology.
technology
Growth in business, education and
government markets.
THREATS
Dell’s market share very less.
Price range considered premium.
Currency fluctuation.
fluctuation
Political instability.
Tariff trade barriers.
 DELL – Market Strategy
‰ Products: PC
PC, laptops
laptops, customer service
service, storage
storage, workstations
workstations, and auxiliary
services.
‰ Pricing: Direct Model approach, pricing below competitors.
‰ Promotion: On-line model, direct mail order, catalogues, Premier Pages, special
training and certifications, editorials, reviews, sales reps, and awards.
‰ Pl
Place: Di t ffrom Dell:
Direct D ll OOn-line,
li ttelephone,
l h mail-order.
il d
‰ Market Penetration: Continue to do more of the same.
‰ Product Development: Pursue Mid-Range Server Growth.
Growth By 2001,
2001 Dell was the
market leader in entry level servers, but had no presence in the mid-range
server market.
‰ Increase product line: New products like a PDA.
‰ New International Market Development: Enter new markets with existing
products.
products
‰ Merger and Acquisitions: By 2000, the external storage market was growing
at 23% per year. By acquiring an innovative leading company like the EMC.
LENOVO
STRENGTHS
National Image (China)
Knowledge about local market:
Lenovo excels in its strategy for the
Chinese market.
Strong R&D: Taken over from IBM.
Mass manufacturing capability.
Quick Responsiveness.
OPPORTUNITY
Import barrier.
Increasing global demand.
Internet boom.
boom
Growing wireless pc market.
Government’s association.
WEAKNESS
Poor global brand perception.
No pure electronic sales
Low inventory turnover: About 40 days.
Poor After sales service.
Limited knowledge of global market.
THREATS
Heavy competition.
Industry reaching maturity.
Software piracy and clone market.
market
Little firms’ growth.
CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS
UPGRADATION
We are expecting that the upgradation of laptops will be one
of the most important requirements of the people owning
laptops If the laptops are made compatible enough to
laptops.
integrate these up gradations and also done at a reasonable
price,, it will attract more customers to the p
p product.
SECONDARY MARKET
People buy second hand, because it is very easy to
change the parts of a PC. It is expected that given the
chance of buying the laptop second-hand with proper
provisions of warranty and reasonable price
exchange people will buy it.
 SURVEY OF MAJOR MARKETS
‰ Main areas and features to provide
provide: Strive to provide the best possible
customer experience.
‰ Demography: The age group was primarily 18 to 35 years.
‰ The targeted customers are majorly students and professional. An interesting
result was that most of the people who bought the laptops gave ratings as
“good”
good and “veryvery good”
good to the performance of the products they had used.
used
The respondents wanted an Apple laptop when given a choice for the “dream
laptop”. Dell was the first runner up followed closely by HP.
‰ The hardware specifications are the first choice for the users when choosing a
laptop. The second choice is the brand name followed closely by price.
Warranty y & Services,, Mobility,
y, Design
g and Bundled Software follow suit. This is
an interesting insight to the user preference and can prove handy to laptop
manufacturers when constructing a laptop for the target audience.
‰ Pricing:
P i i Respondents
R d t were ready
d to
t pay a high
hi h price
i ffor quality,
lit sturdiness
t di
and performance.
SURVEY OF MAJOR MARKETS
‰ Need of the Market:
‰ Upgrade the laptop. About one-third of the respondents do
not want to upgrade their laptop.
‰ Battery management

‰ High Graphic capability

‰ Heat Control in the laptops

‰ TV tuner card

‰ light weightiness

‰ Keyboard Lighting
 EXPECTED MARKETING MIX
‰ Product: The new product launched will have a better Battery management and heat
Product
controlled Laptops along with an inbuilt TV tuner card and also will have a light
weight. Additional feature provided will be keyboard lighting. Full customization will
be provided for customers.
customers

‰ Price: Rs.30,000 to Rs. 50,000. A low pricing strategy can also be used by selling
laptops
p p lesser than competitors
p Laptops.
p p

‰ Promotion: Television and Radio advertisements can be used to introduce the product
in the market. The fulfilled needs should be communicated. Also advertisements should
b shown
be h on news channels
h l and
d sports channels
h l as the
h target market
k is i students
d and
d
professionals. Internet, and print media can be used to support the initial promotion.

‰ Place: Very effective distribution techniques should be used

Place used. To cater the unfulfilled
need of upgradation, the process should also be very easy and less time consuming.
In metros free home delivery of the parts can be done and engineers can go house to
house to upgrade the Laptop.
Laptop In small towns all the laptop sellers can have a
separate department for up gradation and all the up gradation related queries and
installations can be handled there separately.
CONCLUSION
 LOOKING AHEAD
‰ Notebook
N b k industry
d is the
h future
f off personall client
l PC
C
market. Based on predictions, the mobile computing
notebook devices market are subdivided as ultra mobile
sub notebook PCs and notebook PCs.
‰ Innovative educational laptops like
like, $100 laptops are
also looked at as the products which rule the future of
Indian notebook market.
‰ Laptops with extensive multimedia features continue
aiming to gain more personal, home notebook users,
whereas notebooks with longer battery life and
‰ Higher performance will continue to cater the needs of
business professionals.
 LOOKING AHEAD
‰ Gaming industry being itself in very nascent stages. There
are several series in Dell and HP which cater to this group
already. High speed connectivity and low weight
notebooks generally are most demanded ones today.
‰ HP being top performer in multimedia and personal
computer section should try to concentrate more towards
capturing large organizations, and dell the vice versa.
‰ Though notebooks are seen as the replacement of
desktops most of the times, it is still a long way before
notebooks sales overtakes that of desktops in number of
units sold.
REFERENCES
… http://www.mait.com for Market Segmentation
graphs
… http://policies.gov.in/ for government policies
… http://www.intelIiquest.com/resources/technicaI/Mar
ketSegmentationOverview_MBIQ_June24.pdf for
Market Segmentation
… http://www.utdallas.edu/~tskim/Lecture%2ONote%
206 pdf for Market Segmentation
206.pdf
… http://www.scribd.com for market strategies