Chairman’s Love
Samsung Electronics’ sluggish camera business is like something that the company hesitates to give up, even though it is of little profit to the Korean tech giant whose goal is to become a number one company. Even though the camera business has operated at a loss for several years, Samsung has never abandoned or curtailed its operations. Executives in charge of the division haven’t been much changed, either.
An industry source said, “Given Samsung Electronics’ tendency to focus on performance, its camera business is rather exceptional,” adding, “I think that the company is nurturing the business.” It is not difficult to figure out the company’s motives, though. Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee seems to be very interested and confident in the camera business.
According to Samsung and industry sources, Chairman Lee reportedly gave orders at the end of last year to try harder to realize the goal of becoming the world’s number one seller of cameras. His first order was to combine the wireless and camera business units to implant the “second-to-none DNA” of the wireless business unit in the camera business, which lags behind Japanese competitors, so that Samsung cameras can become world-class products.
The reasoning behind his decision is that cameras are not just products, but the creator of optical technology, essential for convergence with other types of products in the future.
Hence, the company is very optimistic about the prospects for the camera business. Samsung is confident about becoming the No. 1 camera manufacturer in the nation within the year, using the most skilled manpower in the company with a large-scale investment, along with a merger with the wireless division. At the present rate of optimism, the tech firm is likely to eye the world’s number one position next year.