Over the last decade, Samsung warded off a fierce fight from a handful of desi and multinational rivals such as Nokia, Micromax and Xiaomi. Can it now keep Vivo and Apple at bay and increase its gains?
Seoul, November 2018. “Oh, me?” JB Park was startled by the suddenness of the news. “Am I ready?” asked the handset pro, who suddenly started behaving like an amateur golf player. “Yes, JB. You are always ready,” came a prompt reply from DJ Koh, who was then president of mobile division at Samsung Electronics. Koh was in the midst of reshuffling the India team, and had immense confidence in JB. “You'll be off to India next month,” he declared during a lunch meeting with his young Korean employee.