April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S8 is selling 20 percent less than its predecessor S7 largely due to the saturated smartphone market, The Bell reported on July 11.

Citing brokerage analysts, the report said, Samsung sold 9.8 million units in the first two months of the launch, about 20 percent less than the S7’s 12 million unit sales last year. 

After its highly publicized debut on March 30, the S8 started selling globally on April 21. On May 16, Samsung announced the global shipments exceeded 10 million units in three weeks of the launch.

“Since the 10 million shipment, Samsung is not revealing sales figures possibly due to slowing sales,” a local analyst was quoted as saying in the report. “We assume the S8 is selling less than the S7.”

The report said Samsung also reduced supply orders for some parts, citing an unnamed industry source.

The S8’s slowing sales are largely due to the market sentiment, especially fiercer competition from Chinese rivals, rather than its own product quality.

A Samsung official refused to compare the S8 and S7 directly, saying that the S8 started selling in three key markets first unlike the S7 that sold globally immediately.

“We estimate S8’s sales volume to be similar to that of S7 for now,” the official added.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)