TOKYO — Overseas parts and machinery makers are bracing for another “Samsung shock” as the South Korean consumer electronics giant struggles with sluggish sales of its latest smartphone model, the Galaxy S6.
Disappointing sales by Samsung Electronics dealt a similar blow to its suppliers last year.
A sales representative at one Japanese electronics materials maker said his company is taking a hit from the lackluster performance of the Galaxy S6. “[The phone’s] sales were temporarily strong but soon fell below the expected volume,” he said. Samsung Electronics is one of the Japanese company’s major customers.
“It’s exactly the same as with the previous model, the S5,” he added. “I hate to say this, but my feeling is, ‘Not again.'”
The South Korean company is determined to make the Galaxy S6 series, which was released on April 10, a success. Samsung officials know that after the previous model flopped last year, they cannot afford another mistake.
But Galaxy S6 sales have so far fallen short of market expectations. According to a market research company in Hong Kong, about 6 million units were sold during the first 20 days of its release. This was better than the previous Galaxy model but still well behind Apple’s iPhone 6 series, whose global sales exceeded 10 million units in its first three days.
Galaxy S6 sales remain sluggish in the Japanese market as well. Major telecommunications company SoftBank has joined its two rivals, NTT Docomo and KDDI, in offering Galaxy smartphones, beginning with this model. “Even though Japan’s three telecommunications companies carry the model, its sales have not increased as much as expected,” said Hideaki Yokota, an analyst at MM Research Institute.
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