While Samsung is doing well globally and the new Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus appear to be "succeeding," business in China does not seem to be going so well for Samsung. In fact, according to a report by Counterpoint, Samsung's smartphone sales in China fell by around 60% during the first quarter of the year.
The South Korean giant sold 3,5 million smartphones and acquired only 3,3% market share, compared to 8,6% the previous year.
This confirms a trend that has already come from behind: Samsung is having a hard time competing with Chinese companies that sell their smartphones at better prices. Among these companies, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo stand out, which increased their sales by 25%, 81% and 60% respectively.
Huawei has become the biggest seller of smartphones in China during the first quarter of 2017 with a market share of 19,7%. It is followed, in second place, by Oppo with a market share of 17,5% and in third position, Vivo with 17,1%.
According to specialists, these three Chinese companies have been able to increase their sales thanks to more affordable prices, better services and better use of distribution channels. Against this, Samsung smartphones are much more expensive, and are only available in online retail stores.
Thus, Samsung's future in China doesn't look too brighte, at least at this moment, so the company will have to find the formula to arouse greater interest in users if it wants to remain a relevant player in the largest smartphone market in the world.
Since Chinese consumers have been more price sensitive than consumers in Western countries, Samsung is likely to have to do a more aggressive pricing policy otherwise, it will not be able to cope with the advance of Huawei, Vivo, and other manufacturers.
Also in India, the South Korean giant seems to be losing the battle against low-cost Chinese brands such as Lenovo, OnePlus, Gionee and Xiaomi.
This is normal, since the Chinese market is heavily copied by local products at much more competitive prices.