Losing #1 Position
Samsung Electronics' camera business is reportedly struggling, as shown by the fact that it lost its top spot in the Korean compact camera market for the first time in nine years. Samsung did not perform well in the mirrorless camera market either, even though the company set a goal to become the world's #1 mirrorless camera maker.
According to industry sources on August 26, an increasing number of voices in Samsung are calling for reassessing the camera business, which has exhibited weaker performance than expected.
First of all, the tech giant's nine-year reign as the #1 compact camera maker came to an end.
According to market research firm GfK and industry sources, Samsung was outperformed by Sony, occupying the runner-up position in the local compact camera market from March to June 2014.
Sony's market share was 28 percent in the first half of this year, 5 percent higher than that of Samsung with a 23 percent share, which reportedly shocked the management.
The gap between Sony and Samsung in the mirrorless camera market is also widening, although Samsung is aiming at becoming the world's #1 mirrorless camera maker by 2015.
In the first half of 2014, the Japanese firm nabbed the top spot in the local market, with a 51 percent share. The Korean company, on the other hand, saw its market share decrease from around 30 percent last year to about 20 percent in the first half. As a result, the gap in market share between the two firms nearly doubled during the same period. Sony's share in overseas markets is more than 10 percent higher than that of Samsung.
Because of this, there is growing concern inside Samsung about its camera business.
Previously, Samsung set a goal to become a dominant player in the global mirrorless camera market by implanting smartphone business DNA into the camera business. To accomplish the goal, the company reorganized its digital imaging unit as an imaging business team at the end of last year, which was incorporated into the information technology & mobile communications (IM) division. However, the business reorganization hasn't been able to create synergy, different from initial expectations.