Samsung Electronics plans to sell used smartphones through a program selling high-end used smartphones with updated software versions, which will be launched next year.
The global smartphone market has peaked
The South Korean technology firm is seeking ways to maintain profit growth by restructuring its product line. With growth in the global smartphone market having peaked , Samsung aims to maximize cost efficiency and keep operating margins above 10 percent.
The world's leading smartphone maker will renovate high-end phones that have been returned to the company by users enrolled in annual update programs for their devices in markets such as South Korea and the United States.
At the moment, the discount that Samsung would apply to used phones is unknown, but the company intends with the plan to gain profitability with respect to the current sales method, to face Apple, its great rival, which is the company that makes the best profit on its previous models when a new terminal debuts. Thus, iPhones have a resale value of 69% of their original price after a year from their launch in the United States, while the Galaxy range, Samsung's flagship, only reaches 51% of the original price.
Apple already does
Apple , Samsung's rival, sells its iPhone models a year after launch at 69 percent of their original price , while Samsung's Galaxy model sells for 51 percent of its original price in the US a year after its launch , according to analysts at BNP Paribas.
Selling refurbished phones could help manufacturers like Samsung increase their presence in emerging markets like India, where high-end devices are often out of reach for most buyers.
Apple already sells refurbished iPhones in several markets, including the United States, but does not release sales figures.
(Information from Se Young Lee and Miyoung Kim, translated by Reuters Newsroom in Madrid)
Source: Reuters
