Bad quarterly for Samsung: The Korean giant estimates that its third-quarter operating income fell 60% from more than 7 billion to 3,05 billion euros (4.100 trillion won), with sales down 20,4% and a slump in to evaluate already calculated in the second quarter at -19,5%.
For Samsung, which remains the world leader in the smartphone market with 74,3 million units sold in the second quarter (more than double Apple's), this will be the first negative quarter since 2011, when it launched the assault on Apple, conquering from there little by little overtaking the US company.
According to a statement from the Korean group itself, the decline in operating margins is mainly due to marketing expenses and lower prices on average: "The high-end products sold less, while it was necessary to reduce the prices of the old models".
In addition to the historic rivalry with Apple, Chinese competition is also threatening for Samsung, with Huawei and Lenovo in the front row: "The Chinese - explains an analyst at Gartner - have invaded emerging markets, in which Samsung is losing ground". The gap is in fact narrowing: the Koreans remain leaders but are declining with 25,2% of the market share, while Huawei now reaches 7% with 20,3 million units sold in the second quarter of this year (16 million Lenovo sales).
How does Samsung respond? First of all by anticipating the release of its new phablet, the Galaxy Note 4, which will have to beat the competition from the iPhone 6, released in September and which has already sold over 10 million units worldwide. The new Note was supposed to come out in October, but its marketing was brought forward to the end of September.
But above all, the Korean house plays the trump card with its latest jewel: the Galaxy Alpha, which launches an even more direct competition to the iPhone 6 by reproducing its style and format (4,7-inch screen), but not the price. It is on the market at significantly lower prices than its American rival.
