Samsung Saw Handset Sales Slowdown in Q4 '07

Samsung says that it saw a slow down in handsets sales in the USA during the last quarter of 2007 - which is usually a period of strong sales in the run up to the Christmas holidays. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer for Samsung Telecommunications America, said it was not clear if the slowing sales related to the timing of customer contract expirations or for other reasons such as economic concerns.

"We know our carriers have said that toward the end of the selling season business was slowing for them in terms of phones sold," Ogle said in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show.

He added that initial sale reports for lower end handsets were stronger that the year before, but that he couldn't comment on sales of their smartphones and high-end models, such as the Blackjack 2 as that model only went on retail release late in the quarter.

In related news, sources told DigiTimes that Samsung is expected to increase the level of handset assembly to China's Foxconn International Holdings (FIH) during this year as the South Korean handset vendor is targeting to ship 200 million handsets in 2008. Samsung has previously hinted that it would look to start outsourcing some aspects of its handset production in order lower the cost of manufacturing each unit.

On the web: Reuters - DigiTimes

Posted to the site on 8th January 2008