Samsung keeps shooting itself in the foot. Between their burning Galaxy smartphones a few months ago, their washer and dryer problems and today’s pending bribery scandal, Samsung is under extraordinary and increasing pressure that could likely impact anything with the Samsung brand. This crisis for Samsung is an opportunity for competitors.
We have seen companies ride the growth wave up until something happened that sent them tumbling down. Sometimes the reasons are a new technology like Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android operating systems, which took the steam out of competitors like BlackBerry and Nokia. Sometimes it’s a sleepy attitude about marketing like with Motorola or Palm.
However, sometimes the problem is self-inflicted like with Samsung. Executives at a company, which has ridden the growth wave for a while start to feel bulletproof. Unfortunately, no company is bulletproof. And when executives take their eye off the ball and lose their hunger, bad things tend to happen.
Samsung has been experiencing severe repercussions from their past success. This has been a problem for years. The questions as I see it is this: can and will Samsung recover from 2016 and 2017 and grow once again? The larger a company, the better the chance of recovery. A company the size and scope of Samsung has developed quite a good reputation in the marketplace until recently.
On the other hand, this is not just one goof. This is three and who knows, there may be more. When the first problem happened with burning smartphones, I said if they could keep their noses clean going forward and no other disasters happen they could survive.
However, Samsung is blowing that chance of recovery right out of the water with their own mistakes. With every story that shows up in the news, it’s another punch in the gut to the company. So, as every week and month and quarter pass, I say it’s getting increasingly more difficult for them to have a meaningful recovery.
So, what does this mean? It means two things: the growth wave may be cresting and it’s also a huge new opportunity for competitors in the many different industries the company competes in.
Consider the smartphone marketplace. Ever since Apple and Google entered the scene 10 years ago they have taken the lead, sending past leaders BlackBerry and Nokia to the doghouse.
Samsung’s problems may be a new and real growth opportunity for competitors. Now remember, they are a giant leader, so nothing will change overnight. However, if Samsung can’t get their house under control, their leadership growth wave may ebb and then reverse. If that happens, competitors like Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, Lenovo, LG, TLC and ZTE will all have an enormous opportunity laid at their feet. The only question is will they be able to take the challenge and rapidly grow. Samsung has big shoes to fill and may leave an enormous gap potentially enabling several competitors to gain market share.
Samsung Galaxy S8 unveiling
So, it all depends on what happens next with the company and its products. The Samsung Galaxy S8 unveiling is in a few weeks. Will it be a hit? Will it be innovative? Will it be game changing? Will it take our eyes of the damage the Samsung brand has experienced? It must be if they want to continue as leader in the space.
