Are Samsung sales going to slip or are the new expectations for component orders part of a new normal?
Now, the fine details about what, exactly, Samsung is reducing have not been fully revealed. The company is said to be concerned about global inflation and its impact on supply and demand. So Samsung is reducing parts and component orders or delaying shipments on orders. Specifically, in a bid to offset its already backed up stockpile. That includes chips and other components. None of that necessarily means that Samsung is ready to slip from its position as the leading global smartphone maker. In fact, the global market for smartphones, as a whole, has diminished significantly over the past few years. First as a result of the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and then as a result of component shortages. Among other issues within the wider consumer industries. Smartphone shipments, for example, dipped by 11 percent year-over-year in Q1 2022. That’s with Samsung holding the top spot at a market share of 24 percent, globally. So the company’s sales may be reduced for the year but it isn’t likely that only Samsung will feel a squeeze. Or that it will be the only OEM making cuts to inventory. While the company’s figures, in terms of shipments in Q1 2022 weren’t great — at a 4 percent loss, according to sources — all other OEMs saw greater losses. That’s with the exception of Apple, which grew 8 percent. That puts Samsung in a good position to hold its own in the market.
