Samsung resumes sales of the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea, only weeks after the exploding frenzy! We can expect them to return to the shelves in Europe around the 28th of October.
Merely a few weeks ago The Galaxy Note 7 was set to take the world by storm. Boasting impressive specs and features, it was the immediate rival to Apple’s iPhone 7. Samsung had carefully planned to use this device and the marketing around its launch to retain market share over the impressive iPhone 7 release, it too (the iPhone 7) boasted impressive features - minus the dismissal of the 3.5mm jack. Samsung and Apple have experienced healthy competition over the past decade as market leaders in the smartphone industry. All was going to plan for Samsung..
But then..
BOOM! The Note 7 phones were “exploding” and “catching on fire”. A bizarre case for a company that has impressive credentials coupled with the fact that they don’t outsource the manufacturing of their components. This certainly has hurt the Samsung brand but they have extreme bounce-back-ability. Following the fireworks of malfunctioning batteries was their recall of all Note 7’s that has been purchased.
Samsung requested all buyers of the Galaxy Note 7 to return their product and expect a replacement relatively soon after the return, it seems the replacements are ready if not already done. They had sold around 2.5 million units worldwide prior to the recall. Around 70% of the phones have been returned and are either awaiting replacement or have their fully functioning Note 7. Even more astonishing, 95% of customers who returned their phones said they would continue to use Samsung, now that’s customer loyalty, a big advantage to Samsung since they need to respond, and respond well to this ongoing palaver.
We expect big things from Samsung. We originally thought they may skip straight to the Note 8, but they’ve gone the respectable route and have backed themselves to re-launch the highly anticipated device.
The big questions going forward are:
Will the battery issue be resolved completely?
How has this affected Samsung’s brand?
And will airlines remove their ban of Samsung Note 7 on aircrafts any time soon?
We’ll keep you posted as soon as we know a bit more.