Monday, July 07, 2008 South Korean electronics company opens second concept shop in Cebu
DRIVEN by a “strong” market share in the Philippines and its belief in the growth potential of the Visayas and Mindanao, Samsung opened last Friday its second concept store in Cebu at the SM City Cebu Northwing’s Cyberzone.
“We wanted to open in another crowded shopping mall and cater to our customers who have different needs,” said Charles Seungho Choi, vice-president of the mobile phones team of Samsung Electronics, Philippines Corp.
Samsung’s first concept shop in Cebu and in the Visayas opened in November last year at Ayala Center Cebu. It features its latest LCD (liquid crystal display) and Slim Fit TVs, home theater systems, mobile phones, electronic gadgets (like digital camera and MP3 players), computer monitors and printers.
Established in partnership with Junrex Cellphones, the Samsung concept store in SM City Cebu only displays mobile phone products that are categorized into six, based on the needs or demands of its target customers.
In an interview with reporters after the store’s opening, Choi disclosed that Samsung is considering adding at least five to 10 concept shops this year to its 10 existing concept stores in the country, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Cebu is a very important market for us. We know that Metro Manila poses a high demand for our products. But since Cebu is a fast-growing (economy), we are strategically focusing on Cebu City, among others,” Choi said.
He added that that these stores do not only make Samsung’s presence in the Visayas and Mindanao area stronger, they also boost company sales as they provide customers “direct experience” and access to Samsung products.
Adding to this boost in sales is the way Samsung mobile phones are launched under a specific category to “address specific consumer needs.”
Choi said that Samsung used to position a certain mobile phone product according to its price, whether it is high-end or low-end.
But upon realizing that consumers have different characteristics, the company started sorting their mobile phones according to business, multimedia, infotainment, style, essentials and connected categories in the second half of last year.
Samsung, though, is putting more emphasis on the style segment. It recently completed its ultra edition lineup with “The Spirit of Ultra” or Samsung Soul model, which it considers as its edge over its competitors.
“Samsung has the second largest market share in the country. We aim to be number one. And I believe Samsung is (already) number one in terms of design. We attract customers who are stylish and prefer phones with style,” Choi said.
Jun Yap, president of Junrex Cellphones, expressed his gratitude to Samsung for offering the partnership in the marketing, sales training, after-sales service and operations of the Cebu concept store.
The parent company of Samsung, which develops semiconductors, telecommunication media, digital media and digital convergence technologies, posted a net income of $8.5 billion in 2006. (NRC)
