After the initial recall of the Galaxy Note 7 back in September and its subsequent cancellation towards the beginning of October, Samsung announced a significant reduction in its revenue and profit forecasts. Now, according to a new report by Gartner, the full consequences of the Galaxy Note 7 ordeal is finally starting to come to light.
Until today, the company’s worst drop in sales was back in 2014 and following the company’s release of its Galaxy S5 smartphone, which eventually led to a drop of 12.3-percent in its fourth quarter sales compared to the previous year. According to today’s report, though, the company has now seen a greater drop thanks to a decrease of 14.2-percent in Q3 2016 sales, compared to Q3 2015. As well as this, the drop in sales also represents a significant drop in market share, which is now down to 19.2-percent from last year’s 23.6-percent. As a result, Samsung is doing everything in its power to ensure that it makes next year’s Galaxy S8 flagship a success and to ensure the decline in sales does not continue into 2017. If the company is successful with the launch, it could mean a significant regain of trust from customers, but if the company fails at its attempt, it will likely mean more tough times are ahead for the company.
Aside from Samsung though, Apple also lost share when compared to last year’s 13-percent share, with the company now sitting at 11.5-percent. All was not bad though, with Huawei, Oppo and BKK Communication Equipment actually gaining share, though this is due to their increased presence in China, where smartphone sales increased a very respectable 12.4-percent. Oppo and BKK’s presence in the country is so high in fact, that 81-percent and 89-percent of their smartphone sales respectively came from China, which, along with an increased presence in India, Thailand, Russia and Malaysia, has enabled them to nearly double their respective market share over the past year. It remains to be seen if Samsung can make a comeback next year after the Galaxy Note 7 ordeal and regain those lost customers. What is for sure though, is the fact that the company’s competition is hotter than ever, so the Korean smartphone giant is going to have to try harder than ever in order to impress consumers.
