Of course, Samsung is in large part responsible for the hostility, which became widely apparent when it excluded Galaxy Note 7s sold in China as part of its first recall plan that begin on September 2. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite Samsung apologizing once again to its Chinese customers for the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco during a press conference last week revealing the detailed causes behind the device’s tendency to catch fire, locals are still expressing discontent, making Samsung’s future operations in China uncertain, especially given that it has already been struggling to compete with local tech companies like Huawei.
According to industry watchers, reaction to Samsung mobile business chief Koh Dong-jin’s apology was rather cold, judging by public comments on news articles about the press conference on January 23.
A significant number of comments on related news articles by media outlets, including People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and Global Times, expressed dissatisfaction, sarcasm, and even hostility, with only a few comments defending the Korean company.
“This is clearly (Samsung) trying to avoid full responsibility,” wrote a Weibo user in response to a Xinhua News Agency article titled “Battery Defect Caused Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Fire,” while another user said “I thank Samsung, for giving our Huawei an opportunity.”
In an article “Samsung: Battery Responsible for Galaxy Note 7 Explosion… Design and Manufacturing Defects” also posted on Weibo by Global Times, a netizen said “I believe (Samsung) initially said that the Chinese customer (who reported the phone catching fire) was responsible,” and another, “the smartphone itself is also defective, not only the battery.”
Of course, Samsung is in large part responsible for the hostility, which became widely apparent when it excluded Galaxy Note 7s sold in China as part of its first recall plan that begin on September 2.
The company initially determined that batteries supplied by Samsung SDI, which were not used in the phablets sold in China, were the root cause of early explosions, leaving Chinese customers without a recall option. Chinese products made use of batteries manufactured by ATL, a Hong Kong-based company.
Regrettably, at least one Note 7 device equipped with an ATL battery eventually caught fire after Samsung’s initial recall, which led to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (of China) coming up with its own recall measure on October 11.
Samsung’s smartphone market share in China further worsened after the crisis.
According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung ranked eighth in Q3 of last year with a 4.6 percent smartphone market share in China, falling behind Huawei (14.9 percent), Oppo (14.1 percent), Vivo (13.6 percent0, Xiaomi (9.4 percent), Apple (6.2 percent), Gionee (6.2 percent), and LeEco (6.1 percent). The figure was a drop from 19.7 percent in 2013, and 13.8 percent in 2014.
Nonetheless, Samsung’s endeavors to reclaim consumer trust in China continue.
Wang Tong, vice president of Samsung Electronics China, said in an online statement that “as one of the biggest foreign investors in China, Samsung will continue its R&D ventures to study in depth the tastes and use patterns of Chinese consumers, and offer products that they will like and be satisfied with.”
In a separate company statement on Samsung’s official Chinese website, the tech giant said that “the recent incident was a lesson to be learned,” and that it will “make best efforts to guarantee both quality and safety (in the future).”
“Samsung will never give up on the Chinese smartphone market,” said an industry official. “It will make continuous efforts to appeal to local consumers.”
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
