SEOUL, KOREA - In the global mobile phone market, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics grew slower than market average in the first quarter of this year, while Apple and Huawei achieved higher growth.
The U.S. market research firm Strategy Analytics announced on April 30 that Samsung’s mobile phone sales reached 113 million units in the first quarter of this year, up 6 percent from 106.6 million units a year ago. This growth is lower than the global mobile phone market’s growth of 9.4 percent. LG sold 16.4 million mobile phones in the first quarter, up 1.2 percent year on year.
Unlike the single-digit growth achieved by the Korean companies, Apple and Huawei posted a robust double-digit growth. Apple enjoyed a 16.8-percent growth to 43.7 million units, while Huawei registered a growth of 22.4 percent to 14.2 million units.
Strategy Analytics said that the key factors behind the decline in Samsung’s growth include the stiffer competition with Chinese mobile phone makers. The market research firm, however, noted that Samsung’s mobile phone sales are still higher than the combined sales of Apple, LG, and Nokia. LG achieved outstanding performances in Europe but remained sluggish in China and India.
