Samsung victim of the new situation on the market … – Les Echos

Most of the growth is now coming from emerging markets and entry-level products

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The disappointing results of Samsung clearly demonstrate that the smartphone market continues to evolve. Gone are the runaway growth of the past five years. The market is entering a new phase of maturation. The volumes are obviously extraordinary: this year it is expected to sell 1.25 billion smartphones according to IDC, an increase of 24% over last year. But it is less than 2013 (38%). And by 2018, sales are expected to grow by 12% on average. However, this growth masks significant disparities.

The gap between developed countries and emerging economies. In Western Europe and North America, the market is already close to saturation, seven years after the introduction of the first iPhone. In the United States, the rate of smartphone penetration reached almost 70% of the population. Result: sales growth for the first time will be less than 10% this year in developed countries, to 4.9% according to IDC. In emerging, however, it will rise to 32.4%.

Market structures are obviously different, with an average selling price of over $ 400 per terminal in “rich” countries, against less than 250 dollars in the world.

This lag in terms of pace of sales is not favorable to the Samsung-Apple, which dominates the smartphone world duo. Very well established in developed countries, where growth is slowing, the two giants of the mobile face competition from increasingly aggressive in countries like India or China, where local, cheaper manufacturers continue to gain market share. What hand – a little – into question their omnipotence: according to analysts at Fitch, Samsung and Apple will see their market share fall approximately 25% and 14% in 2015 (against 31% and 15% in 2013).

Two extremes

In addition to geographical differences, differences also dig even within the smartphone market with the emergence of two extremes: very high-end and entry-level. If the volume growth is virtually zero on the first segment, average prices continue to climb without scaring consumers. Witness the success of the iPhone 6 from Apple, which is more expensive than its predecessor, but also phablettes these smartphones with screen prices and XXL. Products “low-cost” more efficient and design increasingly licked, shoot for their overall growth of the market, making the fortune of new players, as Wiko in France.

“ Between these two extremes, it happens much more. The players in the mid-range are a bit stuck “says Roberta Cozza, an analyst at Gartner. The difficulties faced by an actor like Sony, which will record heavy losses because of disappointing sales in smartphones, illustrate this new market configuration.