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Samsung Elec. ranks No. 1 in U.S. market share for sixth quarter

Samsung Elec. ranks No. 1 in U.S. market share for sixth quarter

Posted October. 31, 2017 07:18,   

Updated October. 31, 2017 09:26

한국어

In the third quarter of 2017, Samsung Electronics secured the biggest market share in the U.S. home appliances market, setting a new record by keeping its dominant position for the sixth consecutive quarter. Becoming the biggest player in the U.S. market means being No.1 globally as well, because the U.S. market is the largest in size and mainly deals in premium products.

According to TraQline, a U.S.-based market research firm, Samsung Electronics held 19.3 percent of the total U.S. market share for the third quarter of 2017. The cumulative figure over the three quarters of 2017 has risen 2.1 percentage points year-on-year to 18.9 percent.

Industry experts say the record is much more meaningful against the backdrop of Whirlpool Corp., the U.S. home appliance giant, having recently filed a safeguard petition to complain that the North American market is “in the face of a continued onslaught of low-priced imports.”

“Low-pricing alone cannot achieve a 20-percent market share,” explained an industry official. “The recent news is evidence that Samsung has a good understanding about the North American market, with premium strategies across various sectors in addition to washing machines.”

Samsung Electronics managed to increase the market shares of refrigerators and washing machines, keeping both items in No.1 positions from last year. Samsung refrigerators showed a steady rise of market share from 13.7 percent in 2014, to 15.6 percent in 2015, 19.6 percent in 2016 and 22.2 percent as of the third quarter of 2017. In particular, Samsung surpassed the 30-percent mark of market share in the “French-Door Refrigerator” (large-sized variety with more than three doors with two doors of the top storage opening sideways and a drawer freezer in the bottom), on the back of the immense popularity of Samsung “Family Hub” and “Food Showcase.”

On the front of washing machines known for fierce competition among top brands, Samsung secured the largest sliver of pie for the fifth consecutive quarter with a 20-percent market share. In particular, Samsung’s Double Wall Ovens (a premium stove allowing for two different types of cooking by dividing the space into top and bottom shelves for different temperatures) grew 11.2 percentage points to 28.8 percent as against last year, reaching the top position in market share for the first time.



Ji-Hyun Kim jhk85@donga.com