Samsung Revises Galaxy S4 Sales Down as False Hype Fails
In April we questioned the hype surrounding Samsung's Galaxy S4 with a report aptly titled "Is Samsung's Galaxy S4 Really Selling Off-the-Chart or are they Just Playing a Marketing Game?" Last week we reported that some of Wall Street brokers were cutting their estimates for Samsung due to "concerns" that sales may be slowing for Samsung's Flagship smartphones. Well, a new report out this morning confirms that sales are indeed falling and it doesn't look like Samsung will be hitting their S4 sales goal of 100 million units for 2013. Samsung was out to beat Apple's standing record of having sold 100 million of their iPhone 4S.
Today, DigiTimes is reporting that "Samsung Electronics reportedly has revised downward its purchases of parts and components for its latest flagship model, the Galaxy S4, for the second and third quarters of 2013 due to a slowdown in demand in the end market, according to industry sources."
The industry sources added that "Samsung's market has also been dented by the latest roll-outs of flagship models by HTC, Sony Mobile Communications and Huawei."
The DigiTimes report added an interesting insight in that the underlying smartphone industry is undergoing a structural change where demand for entry-level to midrange smartphones is rising sharply in China and other emerging markets, and the market for high-end models is becoming saturated.
In the end, we called it right. Samsung's big hype marketing game was nothing but hot air and trickery. The Galaxy S4's gimmicky software and cheesy plastic embodiment has gotten the big thumbs down by consumers.
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Amen! I totally agreed with you. Apple's arrogance and self-satisfaction made the market share shifted like that in just one year. They went for profit instead of market share. Yes, they got lots of money now but that's not what the game should be played. I was hoping that Apple executives would follow the advise that Jobs gave us many years ago about why Mac/Apple was fallen. However, they surely chasing for money instead of market share. Stupid me and became a shareholder and stuck at it now. iOS7 is really ugly and Ive changed it because he wanted to and not because it was broken. I hope MacOS X icons and theme style will not be changed to something like iOS7. Otherwise, I will switch to Windows 8...even though I hate it too. :(
Posted by: David Lau | June 13, 2013 at 01:40 PM
There's still not much for Apple shareholders to cheer about merely because Samsung Galaxy S sales didn't meet expectations. iPhone sales have also taken a huge tumble and there's no reason to expect a new iPhone to turn them around. Apple should never have allowed Samsung a space to fill in the first place. Although I don't believe in the story that every iPhone that goes unsold is a Samsung Galaxy sale, I'm sure Apple lost millions of sales to the Galaxy S models and it shouldn't have had to. Apple had a good thing going and they just let it slip away due to either arrogance or smug self-satisfaction. Instead of Apple simply taking it upon themselves and proactively building a less costly iPhone, they allowed Samsung to force their hand and make them do it as a purely defensive measure.
As a shareholder, I don't think Apple is in any huge danger of completely losing the smartphone market to Samsung, but Apple could have lessened Samsung's impact on the smartphone market by taking control of both the high and middle smartphone markets. In other words, with a company of Apple's wealth and resources they should have been able to stop Samsung from ever gaining a foothold in the smartphone market certainly to the point of Samsung now being declared an equal to Apple in the smartphone industry as it is now. In retrospect, Apple didn't have to let iPhone sales fall off the table to the tune of a 47% share price drop. There was no reason that ever had to happen if Apple had any concern for shareholders at all. Apple just gave it up too easily.
Posted by: Constable Odo | June 13, 2013 at 11:46 AM
YES its a Marketing GAME - Most everyone I see has or still wants the next iPhone - friends who have the Samsung want to change it.
Thumbs DOWN all the way for friends and family!
Posted by: Gavin | June 13, 2013 at 10:37 AM