Samsung Electronics Canada
INTRODUCTION
In 2003, the Canadian consumer electronics market was valued at Cdn 2.3 billion. It was a fairly mature market, in which many multinational firms competed for market share. Sony was by far the leader in this region and had held onto that position for the last two decades. Canadian consumers were very technology-savvy and valued quality, customer service and favorable return policies over low prices.
By 2000, Samsung had evolved into a credible player in the consumer electronics market and had attained market leadership in a wide range of consumer electronic products.
Global market share for Samsung’s electronic products
O P Large screen TV LCDs Microwave
Ovens DRAM
Computer chips Flash
Memory Mobile
Phones MP3
Players DVD Players
Rank 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 3
Market share 32% 18% 25% 32% 14% 10% 13% 11%
In 2003, it was ranked in the top 50 brands in the world and was the only brand whose value had increased over the previous two years.(other brands’ values had decreased or stagnated for the same time period)
Valuations for competing consumer electronic brands (Approximate brand value in USD billions) 2003 Ranking 2003 2002 2001
Samsung 25 10.85 8.31 6.37
Sony 20 13.15 13.90 15.00
Philips 59 4.46 4.56 4.90
Panasonic 79 3.26 3.14 3.49
Keeping in view the growth that the consumer electronics division of Samsung was experiencing globally, Mr. J.S. Park, the president of Samsung Electronics Canada, was assigned the task of developing a strategy for repositioning the Samsung brand in the Canadian market. This effort would not be limited to only to advertising and promotion but would also extend to market segmentation, product mix, distribution system and pricing strategy. Moreover, such strategy would have to be formulated keeping in view competition from European, Japanese and other Korean companies who had similar aspirations, and the
In 2003, the Canadian consumer electronics market was valued at Cdn 2.3 billion. It was a fairly mature market, in which many multinational firms competed for market share. Sony was by far the leader in this region and had held onto that position for the last two decades. Canadian consumers were very technology-savvy and valued quality, customer service and favorable return policies over low prices.
By 2000, Samsung had evolved into a credible player in the consumer electronics market and had attained market leadership in a wide range of consumer electronic products.
Global market share for Samsung’s electronic products
O P Large screen TV LCDs Microwave
Ovens DRAM
Computer chips Flash
Memory Mobile
Phones MP3
Players DVD Players
Rank 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 3
Market share 32% 18% 25% 32% 14% 10% 13% 11%
In 2003, it was ranked in the top 50 brands in the world and was the only brand whose value had increased over the previous two years.(other brands’ values had decreased or stagnated for the same time period)
Valuations for competing consumer electronic brands (Approximate brand value in USD billions) 2003 Ranking 2003 2002 2001
Samsung 25 10.85 8.31 6.37
Sony 20 13.15 13.90 15.00
Philips 59 4.46 4.56 4.90
Panasonic 79 3.26 3.14 3.49
Keeping in view the growth that the consumer electronics division of Samsung was experiencing globally, Mr. J.S. Park, the president of Samsung Electronics Canada, was assigned the task of developing a strategy for repositioning the Samsung brand in the Canadian market. This effort would not be limited to only to advertising and promotion but would also extend to market segmentation, product mix, distribution system and pricing strategy. Moreover, such strategy would have to be formulated keeping in view competition from European, Japanese and other Korean companies who had similar aspirations, and the