Samsung is refining its distribution strategy as it bids to take the number one spot in the smartphone, feature phone and tablet market.
The company will now be ‘more stringent’ about what it expects from partners and how they market the products, Samsung UK head of mobile Simon Stanford told Mobile last week.
It comes as the company strengthens its Galaxy brand as it looks to grab the number one spot in smartphones, tablets and feature phones. Stanford said: ‘The Galaxy S strategy is [for Samsung] to be the number one feature phone, number one in smartphones and number one in tablets globally.’
He added: ‘We’ve learnt a lot about our distribution strategy. We used to put a device out that was volume led and now we look at the channels. The way we go about it now will be very different – it’s about experience, so we will be distributing to places that will demo the product.
‘We are being quite stringent about what we will see from partners in terms of how they market those products. We need to refine the channels to get the customer experience. We are staying in Carphone, Phones 4u and Dixons as well as in new channels and on Amazon. We are also working with the networks to work out tablet strategies.’
The line is growing
The Galaxy S, Galaxy Ace and Galaxy S II have exceeded expectations, while the Galaxy Mini and Galaxy Pro are selling particularly well, Stanford said.
He added: ‘There are three things we want to stand out over – hardware, OS and the latest and greatest content.
We will work very hard to make sure people are getting a good consumer experience.’
Stanford’s team has grown three times in size to around 12 people since the former O2 man took on the role at Samsung last year.
It is understood Samsung has increased its lead over Nokia in the UK and now has a market share of around 21%.
