Truth be told, Korean gadget giant Samsung is still one of the big dogs in the smartphone and gadget industry. But when you get used to money streaming in, the moment that the financial stream slows down is also the moment where you get pressured to change. That may be what has happened to Samsung as mobile boss J.K. Shin steps down to give the helm to someone new.
A couple of years back, everybody wished to be Samsung, putting out the Samsung Galaxy S series which helped the mobile division of the company become the company’s cash cow in the past few years. But recent times have seen a slide in Samsung’s market share, especially in Android smartphones, with rivals Apple Inc. and Chinese upstarts Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi Inc. gaining ground on the Korean giant.
This has resulted in the 59-year-old Shin stepping down and giving Samsung Mobile’s day-to-day operations to the 54-year-old Dongjin Koh. Koh has served previously as head of Samsung’s mobile research and development, and reportedly has played a big role in the design of current flagships the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy Note 5. Shin will move into a lesser role, keeping the title of overall head of Samsung’s mobile division, focusing on long-term strategy.
Industry pundits see this basically as a “retirement” for Shin, a lowering of his once strong influence in the mobile business of Samsung. Shin assumed the helm of the Samsung mobile business in 2009, and under his control he delivered record profits. A sharp earnings decline starting last year showed that new strategies and leadership might be needed.
So what is to become of Samsung today? Recently, the Korean company has implemented new designs, introduced cut prices for seemingly high-end products just so they can boost sales, but the writing may be on the wall. Huawei, Xiaomi and all the other strong contenders from China are not going away just yet. Research data shows that Samsung’s global market share continued to fall starting last year, even with these strategies in place. If the company doesn’t bring out a game changer soon, it may have to accept that the Android industry just gained some new top players, while they cede a big percentage of their market share to these new companies.
