The GFK figures back up the main objective for 2008 of Mark Mitchinson, vice president for Samsung Mobile UK, which was to grow the business’ market share from 19% in January 2008, to 30% by the end of the year, he told Mobile Business.
Samsung Mobile UK has had a successful 2008, with volumes up around 12% from 2007, Mitchinson said. Mobile Business has been able to determine that Samsung Mobile UK did volumes of between nine and 10 million over the 2008 calendar year, probably closer to the 10 million mark.
By the beginning of December, Mitchinson said Samsung Mobile UK had gone over the 30% market share boundary, thanks to a series of initiatives launched over the year. He commented: “We’ve been a lot more market driven and customer focused in 2008. 2008 has been all about getting closer to my customers and consumers; they won’t leave an operator for the best phone without compelling packages and propositions. From 2009 we want to cement our position as the number one manufacturer in the UK and number two in Ireland.”
However, profits come first, he added: “We’re not in the habit of buying market share. You need to maintain profitability or you can’t do the research and development and marketing needed to stay on top. We always need better return on investment.”
The initiatives that Mitchinson began in January 2008 included: entering the pre-Christmas skirmish with other manufacturers for the first time; boosting marketing spend by one third on 2007 figures; bringing its pay as you go deals down form high tier, over £99 deals, down to reach all price points; getting the most out of price erosion on popular handsets to increase compelling deals for a wider range of customers; and continuing to innovate with handsets.