Japanese consumer electronics major Sony is cutting prices of Xperia branded smartphones in India as companies including market leader Samsung are introducing newer models in the country. Accordingly, Sony smartphones in the Z, T, C, E and M series among others are set to witness price cuts ranging between Rs 1,500 and Rs 6,500. An announcement is expected soon.
"The highest price cut is on the Z series smartphones, especially the Z3 handsets that were launched a couple of months ago. So the Xperia Z3 which currently retails between Rs 43,500 and Rs 44,900 will see a price reduction of Rs 6,000 to Rs 6,500. That's a price correction of around 14%," said an executive from one of the leading mobile retailing chains.
Sony India executives did not respond to calls/email.
Another senior executive from a consumer electronics retail chain confirmed the price cut. "We have been informed of the price cut and it will be implemented across all Sony handsets available in the market," the executive said.
Based on the above calculation, it is clear that all Xperia handsets will see a 14% reduction in prices given that the range is anywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 6,500 depending on the handset model.
Mobile handset manufacturers typically introduce price cuts after six months to a year (depending on the company's policy) from the time of launching a new phone. However, that practice may be in for a change considering Sony India launched the two variants of Xperia Z3 towards September-end/early October 2014. In just three months, Sony has reduced the price by 14%.
"Companies typically take price cuts when they are expected to launch a new model or they want to expedite sales of their slow-moving items. While competition is heating up extremely in the mid-segment (Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000), the refresh rate (new models being introduced in the market) is getting shorter as people are changing handsets very frequently," said a senior industry executive.
Earlier this week, Samsung Electronics launched four new models in the mid-segment to be able to further expand its market share. The company officials, however, remained tight-lipped on whether a price cut will be taken on some of the existing models.
The new year may not have started well for consumer durables companies with Haier, Whirlpool, Panasonic, Godrej Appliances and Daikin increasing product prices up to 5% following the roll-back of excise duty sops. However, it looks like the party for smartphone consumers will only get better by the day as more players will launch new handset models and take a price cut on the previous ones.
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