Samsung Case Study: SWOT and PESTLE Analysis

Industry type

Conglomerate

Subsidiaries

Samsung Electronics

Samsung Life Insurance

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance

Samsung Heavy Industries

Samsung C&T

Samsung SDS

Samsung Techwin

Samsung Motors (Renault-Samsung Motors cars division)) etc.

Head quarter

Seoul

Current CEO

Dr. Oh-Hyun Kwon

Products

Apparel, chemicals, consumer electronics, electronic components, medical equipment, precision instruments, semi-conductors, ships,  telecommunications equipment

Competitors

Apple, Nokia, Intel Corporation, LG Display and LG Electronics, Sony Corporation, Lenovo Group Limited, Hewlett-Packard Company, Toshiba Corporation.

Strengths

Globally recognized brand

Technology enables the company to produce low cost products with better outputs

Samsung hardware can be integrated with various software

Excellent engineering that help this company to produce high-quality hardware parts and electronics.

Samsung is famous for its innovative designs in electronics

This company puts emphasis to protect the environment from any negative impact.

Samsung possesses the largest share in phone market and retains second position in smartphone market

It creates effective promotional strategies to market a new product or even existing products

The company has reassigned 300 engineers from semi-conductors unit to other departments; the shift has resulted in high quality products compared to the competitors.

Weakness

Samsung earns low profit margins compared to other competitors in the industry

There is a risk of losing consumers as the other big companies also offer the same products

Some of the Samsung designs are not considered user-friendly

This company focuses on too many things at a time, so there is prospect of losing the core target of the company

Samsung has not developed its own OS and software.

Opportunities

Samsung has become the fastest growing advertising industry across the world

There is a demand for quality products from Samsung

Expansion of tablet market is the one of the biggest opportunities for Samsung Electronics

Samsung has obtained patents through making alliances, just like it signed an accord with the Toshiba that enables them to gain access to NAND flash technology

Collaborating with 3D gaming companies has proved to be a profit deal for the organization.

Threats

Technology is evolving with days and to keep up the pace with technological evolution, Samsung has to keep track of every technological activity around the world.

In recent development, developed countries are experiencing saturated markets.

Breach of patents

Apple has already announced its newest creation iTV, so Samsung is going to face Apple as a competitor in television world.

The slow rate acquisitions of 3D TVs by consumers poses threats to this multinational company.

Declining price rate of smart phones in global markets.

Political factors

Socio-cultural factors

Samsung faces significant political risks in countries where it operates. In recent years, this global organization has countered political challenges in its home country South Korea because of political tension with North Korea.

Apart from the South Korean issue, this company also faces political pressure in African and Latin American countries due to its unstable governing body.

 But overall the political atmosphere is conducive in the other countries where Samsung operates.

Samsung grew out of a South Korean family business. But as a global company, it has to adopt local condition to run the business smoothly in other countries.

 Being a global and multinational organization, Samsung has to maintain Glocal (combination of local and global considerations) strategy.

Apart from these issues, Samsung require tailoring their product according to the geographical change and fastest changing consumer preferences in the market.

Socio-cultural factors are different in each country due to lifestyle preferences of the customers. So Samsung has to reorient their products according to the local demands.

Economic

Technological

Samsung certainly developed the relevant marketing strategies to gain satisfactory economic benefits in the markets it operates. But it has been critical for Samsung to emerge as global brand.

Given the facts the companies need high levels of disposable income to buy raw products in order to make the final product. So Samsung aimed to adjust rather well to the tapering off of the consumer disposable incomes in the developed world by expanding into the emerging and the developing markets.

As further marketing strategy, Samsung entered into the markets where business cycle for the products is in the initial stage.

Samsung is considered to the world’s leading company in terms of innovation and technology.

Samsung puts their prior emphasis to reach the first position in the technology curve by beating its rivals.

It also aims to provide its consumers the newest innovation. But this obsessive mission has brought legal and regulatory scrutiny for the company. Apple alleged Samsung of imitation of its design.

Legal

Environmental

Apple has filed a lawsuit against Samsung claiming that Samsung has copied from the Apple iPhone in Galaxy. It cost the company averse feedback from the consumers.

Samsung is aware of the increasing number of ethical consumers who want their products to be environmental-friendly. So the company has to create some new technology to meet their needs.

While maintaining these needs, the company has to take care of the other facts like pay, wages and working hours.