SEOUL: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is struggling hard to regain Chinese market as the company has announced to launch two metallic i.e. Galaxy A3 and A5 next month.
Samsung’s smartphone woes began late last year and persisted through July-September, with its global market share down on year for the third straight quarter and its profit scraping at a three-year low.
Its struggles were prominent in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market, where Samsung was dethroned by local upstart Xiaomi Inc as the top smartphone maker in the second quarter. It does not help that Samsung’s lower-end products are too expensive and not sufficiently distinctive compared to those touted by Xiaomi and Lenovo Group Ltd, analysts say.
The Galaxy A3 and A5 are seen by analysts as Samsung’s first counter-strike. Initially launching in China in November, they will be Samsung’s first devices to feature fully metallic bodies and its thinnest smartphones to date. In size, the A3 and A5 are comparable to those of the top-of-the-line Galaxy S5, though of lesser screen resolution quality.
The announcement, combined with hopes for an earnings recovery and bigger dividends, pushed Samsung’s shares in Seoul to the highest close in more than two months. The stock has gained 10 percent since Thursday.
