No.2 cellphone maker Samsung takes the fight to No.1 Nokia, reveals ambitious plans for Finland
14 Jun 2008
Taking the fight directly to the opposition is what Samsung evidently believes in. That would explain the No.2 mobile phone manufacturer's interest in growing in Finland, the home of No.1 Nokia. Even though Samsung has only six per cent of the Finnish market as compared to Nokia's 86 per cent dominance, the Korean company is hopeful of carving out a niche for itself in the high-income European nation.
"Our goal is to get back to about 15 per cent share of the mobile phone market (in Finland)," said Samsung's Finland sales head Mika Engblom, in a reference to the enhanced market share that the company enjoyed back in 2005 when it introduced clamshell phones in Finland, till then considered an innovation in Europe. However, sales have fallen off since then as Nokia reasserted its dominance.
Nokia reiterated earlier this week it plans to launch a touch-screen handset in the latter half of the year. It also intends to pay back Samsung on its own coin by entering the latter's home market of South Korea, although no concrete plans have been announced.
Samsung is hoping that its new touch-screen phones will make an impact. The company yesterday published a study of Finns' preferences in consumer electronics and said touch screens were seen going hand in hand with ease of use.
"It is quite interesting in the survey results that older people were the ones who wanted a touch screen," Engblom said.
