Note 7 explosions not scaring buyers
SAMSUNG customers are incredibly forgiving. They have let go of the Galaxy Note 7 explosions and trust the brand enough to know that it will never happen again. This is according to Samsung director of marketing, Justin Hume, who explained that their fourth quarter numbers increased last year, and so have those for their first quarter so far.
At the 8th Samsung Africa Forum in Cape Town this week, Hume said its chief executive last month announced findings for the probe into the Note 7 explosions.
“The issue was isolated to the battery and its charging capability.
“When about 25 handsets were reported to have exploded globally, we recalled the entire multibillion dollars range of products.
“Since then, a far more robust quality check system has been implemented.”
Earlier this month, a Samsung factory in China caught fire after exploding batteries that forced a recall of the Note 7, The Telegraph reported.
The fire was caused by discarded batteries in its waste facility, local emergency services said.
To Samsung’s gratitude, said Hume, its customers remained loyal. “Even when the mobile division was experiencing difficulty, other divisions helped bring the numbers up,” he said.
“What we found is that our customers were incredibly forgiving.
“But we can say that had the Note 7 not exploded, our numbers would be even higher.”
Technology expert and the managing director of World Wide Worx, Arthur Goldstuck, said consumers are willing to give Samsung a chance.
“The brand dominates in many areas of appliances and components that already make them formidable without the smartphone division.
“Even in the smartphone division, we need to recognise the extent to which the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S7 phones leapfrogged everyone else. “They have been spectacularly successful phones, and technologically they have been ahead of the curve.
“Those phones have helped Samsung maintain a very strong position in the smartphone industry.”
Goldstuck explained that the Note 7 appealed to a certain segment of the market: “Samsung may well have lost parts of that segment to Apple or Huawei.”
Some of the products that Samsung launched at the summit included their new range of sound bars and QLED television sets.
“QLED TVs are capable of reproducing 100% colour volume.
“This breakthrough is a result of Samsung’s switch to a new metal Quantum Dot material, making it possible for the TVs to express a significantly improved range of colour,” said Lance Berger, business unit head for TV/AV at Samsung South Africa.
It also introduced wind-free air conditioners that provide cooler indoor climate without direct airflow, a top-mounted freezer refrigerator range and Samsung’s AddWash front-loader washing machines. All can be controlled remotely through smartphone apps.
President and the chief executive of Samsung Africa, Yoo Young Kim, said the company was shifting to a new paradigm.
He said it would reinvent itself in the continent.
“To do this, I am holding out my hand to all of you,” he told delegates at the Forum.
“All you need to do is reach out and grab it. We will listen to what you say, to lear n about what it means to be part of Africa.”