Samsung seeks to sell more smartphones in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is an attractive smartphone market for both heavyweights and mass-market players given the relatively large number of young people who are willing to open their wallets to buy new, feature-packed arrivals.

In the higher-end market, Apple Inc., the world’s top premium smartphone maker, is targeting young adults with deep pockets while Chinese players such as Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Realme are launching budget mobile phones to appeal to low- and middle-income bracket consumers.

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer by volume, is also striving to gain ground in the emerging market with some successes in countries, including Thailand and Vietnam.

According to market research firm Canalys, the South Korean tech giant ranked first in terms of shipments across the entire Southeast Asian smartphone market as of November 2022.

In Vietnam, Samsung was ahead of its rivals with a 39% market share. The company also led the pack in Thailand, controlling 29% of the local market.

But in Indonesia, the largest smartphone market in the region, Samsung was behind China’s Oppo, the market leader.

The Korean company ranked fifth in the Philippines, controlling just 13% of the market.

Apple’s launch of the iPhone 14 Pro series in Singapore and Thailand last year means that demand for high-end mobile phones has not been dampened by inflation, according to Canalys.


SAMSUNG TO HOLD STRATEGY MEETING IN MALAYSIA

In a bid to enhance its presence in Southeast Asian countries, Samsung said on Thursday it plans to hold a meeting of executives in Malays in the second week of February.

At the meeting, to be presided over by TM Roh, president and head of Samsung’s MX (Mobile eXperience) business, local office chiefs from major Southeast Asian countries will convene to work out marketing strategies for this year.

Industry watchers said Samsung’s marketing strategy will be two-pronged, targeting the premium and low-end segments.

Earlier this week, sources said Samsung is dropping A7 models, mid-priced smartphones, from its new launch list for this year as the company focuses on top-notch mobile phones while also releasing some budget phones.

In the Southeast Asian market, shipments from various vendors of premium smartphones priced at $400 and above increased 29% in the third quarter of 2022 from the year-earlier period, according to Counterpoint Research.

Samsung said it will launch more foldable phones in the Asian market to appeal to high-end consumers.

The company has already brought its high-end line of Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip phones to Vietnam to meet the growing demand for foldable smartphones.

Company officials said Samsung hopes to leverage its upcoming new smartphone launching event – the Galaxy Unpacked 2023 – as an occasion to mount an aggressive marketing campaign in Southeast Asia.

At the Unpacked event to be held offline in San Francisco on Feb. 1, Samsung is expected to unwrap several new models of its flagship Galaxy S23 series smartphones, which the company hopes to rival Apple’s high-end line of iPhones.

Samsung’s mobile chief Roh said in mid-January that the upcoming S23 series will set new performance and quality standards by adopting state-of-the-art technology while meeting climate goals.

Targeting consumers who favor low-priced phones packed with advanced features, Samsung also plans to advance the release schedule of budget smartphones such as the Galaxy A34 and A54.

Samsung’s Galaxy A series models have been popular in emerging markets such as Latin America, India and other Southeast Asian countries, contributing to the company’s global market leadership.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.