Samsung Poised to Lead the Pack

Electronics giant outsold its rivals HP and Siemens last year and is set to do the same this year

By a special correspondent

Las Vegas (NewsWorld) ― Samsung Electronics Co. has outsold all of its major rivals in the world including such IT giants as Hewlett-Packard and Siemens with its total annual sales for 2009 of $116.8 billion calculated at the exchange rate of 1,164 won to the dollar, the company said recently.
HP’s annual sales last year amounted to $114.6 billion and Siemens reported $116.4 billion based on provisional sales figures.
In the Fortune 500 rankings, Samsung was 40th, while HP ranked 32nd and Siemens 30th, according to Samsung officials, adding that the tables were turned last year and Samsung Electronics has become the world’s largest firm in terms of sales in the IT industry.
They said Samsung is likely do very well this year, too, provided that the exchange rate stays above 1,100 won per dollar on average and the company continues to outsell both HP and Siemens.
President Choe Ji-sung attributed the outstanding performance to its intense sales campaign despite the global economic slowdown, while its rivals stood still.
The company beat its rivals in the area of memory chips in a game of “chicken” and did well in other sectors, too, by introducing new strategic products including handsets and TVs, the CEO said.
Samsung’s global memory chip market share reached over 40 percent as did its LCD panels. The company is right on the heels of Nokia in cell phones sales, selling over 200 million sets with its global market share rising to 20 percent. The company’s LED TVs have been a resounding success around the world, in the U.S. in particular, selling over 2.6 million sets, posting 86.9 percent of the global market for LED TVs in terms of sales value.
Samsung plans to sell 10 million LED TV sets this year around the world, while selling 25 million LCD TVs and 4 million PDP TVs, altogether 39 million flat panel TVs this year, up 30 percent from last year.
The company is also confident it can do well in other products such as chips and communication equipment.
CEO Choe said it would be another good year for the company this year at the Consumer Electronics Show, which was held in Las Vegas Jan. 7-10, citing improved market conditions compared to 2008.
He said the company will try to top its rivals in all product areas, adding that a substantial number of global electronics makers didn’t even come to Las Vegas this year due to the financial crisis, but Samsung brought an expanded number of products to CES, believing that the winner takes all.
CEO Choe said that the company will try to expand its market share for all of its products this year, not sell less for large profits as they always said.
He believes if a product commands a 40 percent market share in a country, it could do the same globally. He said the company should make top global sellers out of all of its products including refrigerators, PCs, printers and washing machines, saying that the home appliance market is bigger than the TV market at $150 billion. The company expanded its sales of washing machines by 140 percent and refrigerators by 70 percent in the United States despite the economic slump, showing that market shares for those products can be expanded further there.
The CEO said the company will push the sales of its 3D TVs with segregated marketing and a competitive edge helped by its own unique technologies, making them a major strategic item for the company.
President Yoon Boo-keun, in charge of the Digital Media Sector, said the company plans to sell more than 2 million 3D TV sets, boasting a clearer image than others, counting on the hyper-real chips and LED technology used to make the TV.
CEO Choe also said the company will go full blast on sales of smart phones by putting on display a full line of its smart phones at CES to secure a top spot in global sales. They sold 200 million cell phones last year making 4 trillion won in profit for the company.
“If you can succeed in the U.S., the largest electronics gadget market in the world, you can succeed anywhere,” Choe said. Last year, Samsung sold $27 billion worth of products in the United States, with more than $2 billion in net income. nw

Samsung Electronics booth displaying 3D TVs and other latest electronics gadgets at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the United States held Jan. 7-10.

Former Chairman Lee Kun-hee of Samsung Electronics and President Choe Ji-sung, to his right, tries on a 3D glass at CES in Las Vegas Jan. 7.