Will Motorola Departure Threaten Samsung?
Attention is being paid to whether Samsung Electronics, the world’s No. 2 handset manufacturer after Nokia, will keep its current position after Motorola announced that it may spin off its struggling handset business.
Samsung has not given any official reaction yet but says it will strengthen its ongoing bid to focus on top-tier phones while focusing on the North American market.
``There is no major policy shift. We will take our path as planned and focus on the North American market, where our touch-based high-end phones have been selling well,’’ a high-ranking Samsung official told The Korea Times on Sunday.
Samsung saw its market share rise to 14.6 percent last year from 11.4 percent in 2006, while Motorola’s market share fell from 21.7 percent to 14.4 percent during the period, according to data from Strategy Analytics, a market research firm.
Motorola derives 80 percent of its handset sales from North America.
Samsung has recently revised upward its handset sales goal to 50 million high-end phones costing over $200 this year. The figure represents a sharp rise from 32 million in 2007.
Most recently, Samsung is negotiating to build a handset plant in Vietnam that has an annual production capacity of 100 million high-priced sets.
Samsung, which operates handset plants in Gumi at home and Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Haizhou in China, Delhi in India and Campinas in Brazil, forecast that its handset shipments will increase from 161 million last year to 200 million in 2008.
Although it seems highly unlikely that any of the major handset manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, Sony-Ericsson and LG Electronics will immediately bid for Motorola, experts say Samsung may face a serious challenge from its rivals in the world’s largest consumer electronics market.
``If one of Samsung’s rivals buys Motorola, then I cannot guarantee that the Korean company will keep the No. 2 position as the U.S.-based firm is very attractive to potential buyers that want to increase its presence in North America,’’ said an analyst at a local brokerage.
``Motorola is still a good brand in North America. Even in Asia, its infrastructure and intellectual property portfolio is quite strong,’’ he added.
Nokia plans to introduce 12 new phone models only for the U.S. this year, while Sony-Ericsson has been focusing on expanding its U.S. product lineup, driven by good performances of its Cyber-shot and Walkman models.
Last week, Motorola announced that it may separate or sell its key flagship handset division because it has failed to come up with new phones to follow the once high-flying Razr. Sales from Motorola’s handset business fell 33 percent to $19 billion in 2007.
source
Samsung has not given any official reaction yet but says it will strengthen its ongoing bid to focus on top-tier phones while focusing on the North American market.
``There is no major policy shift. We will take our path as planned and focus on the North American market, where our touch-based high-end phones have been selling well,’’ a high-ranking Samsung official told The Korea Times on Sunday.
Samsung saw its market share rise to 14.6 percent last year from 11.4 percent in 2006, while Motorola’s market share fell from 21.7 percent to 14.4 percent during the period, according to data from Strategy Analytics, a market research firm.
Motorola derives 80 percent of its handset sales from North America.
Samsung has recently revised upward its handset sales goal to 50 million high-end phones costing over $200 this year. The figure represents a sharp rise from 32 million in 2007.
Most recently, Samsung is negotiating to build a handset plant in Vietnam that has an annual production capacity of 100 million high-priced sets.
Samsung, which operates handset plants in Gumi at home and Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Haizhou in China, Delhi in India and Campinas in Brazil, forecast that its handset shipments will increase from 161 million last year to 200 million in 2008.
Although it seems highly unlikely that any of the major handset manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, Sony-Ericsson and LG Electronics will immediately bid for Motorola, experts say Samsung may face a serious challenge from its rivals in the world’s largest consumer electronics market.
``If one of Samsung’s rivals buys Motorola, then I cannot guarantee that the Korean company will keep the No. 2 position as the U.S.-based firm is very attractive to potential buyers that want to increase its presence in North America,’’ said an analyst at a local brokerage.
``Motorola is still a good brand in North America. Even in Asia, its infrastructure and intellectual property portfolio is quite strong,’’ he added.
Nokia plans to introduce 12 new phone models only for the U.S. this year, while Sony-Ericsson has been focusing on expanding its U.S. product lineup, driven by good performances of its Cyber-shot and Walkman models.
Last week, Motorola announced that it may separate or sell its key flagship handset division because it has failed to come up with new phones to follow the once high-flying Razr. Sales from Motorola’s handset business fell 33 percent to $19 billion in 2007.
source
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