Samsung Looks Towards Innovation

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun Hee is urging employees to become more innovative and to adopt new ways of thinking. The company is aiming to steer beyond their focus on hardware towards its further growth. “We have to change once again,” Lee Kun Hee stated. “We must give a bigger push for innovations, including in business structure, so that we can lead industry trends.” Samsung shipped a record number of handsets in 2013 and posted its highest quarterly earnings, yet its shares had their first annual decline in five years amid signs of slowing growth in high-end handsets and competition from Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s new iPhones according to Bloomberg.

According to a recent J.D. Power Report, Samsung Ranks Highest in Owner Satisfaction with Tablet Devices. The Purchase Experience Greatly Impacts Overall Tablet Customer Satisfaction Report highlights that Samsung ranks highest with a score of 835 and is the only manufacturer to improve across all five factors since the previous reporting period in April 2013. Samsung showed particularly strong improvement in the cost factor (25-point increase). Apple ranks second scoring 833 and performs particularly well in performance and ease of operation.

Samsung is the largest maker of memory chips and flat-panel displays, focusing on cheaper devices in emerging markets as prices for handsets drop. Samsung’s first global developers conference on Oct. 27-29 in San Francisco attracted over 1,300 attendees at the St. Francisco Westin Hotel. The company aims to attract more loyalty. Samsung featured its future gadgets as becoming more connected to each other by optimizing its  future apps for the platform. “Samsung is creating one of the largest connected platforms spanning a broad range of devices,” Samsung said.

The developer conference was an effort by the company to further build on its connections through encouraging developer loyalty. The economic climate also results in increased pressure for companies to focus on retaining loyalty. Securing greater service and customer loyalty has substantial rewards. Loyalty can lead to long-term strategies which may involve improving efficiency levels. Samsung currently holds the highest market share for smartphones.

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Samsung received 85 percent of sales from outside its home market in 2012. Samsung should create new businesses by integrating technologies from different industries, Lee also stated. The company faced patent battles with Apple on four continents and competition in TVs from Japanese and Chinese makers and in chips from smaller Korean maker SK Hynix Inc according to Bloomberg. “Our leading businesses are constantly being chased by competitors, while time is running out for our less-competitive businesses,” said Lee, South Korea’s richest man.