Consumer Electronics
Vietnam's telecoms industry set for sector shake up
Telecommunications companies in Vietnam will be restructured this year to ensure that there are only three or four healthy companies in the market, in accordance with a plan approved by the Prime Minister, said Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son.
Specific restructuring measures include creating favourable conditions for mergers and acquisitions, revoking licences and restructuring inefficient companies.
Electronics retailers in Vietnam sell directly from warehouses to cut costs
Some retailers of electrical and electronics products in Hanoi and Da Nang are adopting a new marketing strategy: direct sales at their warehouses at discounts.
The model offers them the advantage of reducing spending on attractive showrooms and scores of salespeople, while consumers get the products 10-20 percent cheaper.
The model has for long been popular abroad, but is only now catching on in Vietnam.
Samsung opens first partner shop in Macau
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. opened its first Macau Samsung Partner Shop on Friday, giving consumers a one-stop experience platform.
The store, located in Infante D. Henrique, is close to many tourist attractions and showcases a full range of Samsung products, including smart phones, mobile tablet, Smart TV, audio and video products, laptop computers, cameras, and the latest line of accessories.
It also features an intelligent video experience room where users can learn more about the of audio and video products.
GfK: HK consumers multi-task with tablets
GfK Hong Kong's retail audit data showed an increasing adoption rate for tablets, with sales reaching 1.9 million units in 2012, up more than 44 percent compared to the previous year.
A separate study by GfK, the iPanel survey, revealed that a key driver for the rise of tablets is the fact that it has become a popular tool for multi-tasking.
Tablet sales soar – but Apple's market share sinks
Worldwide tablet sales jumped in the fourth quarter beyond even some of the most optimistic forecasts to 52.5 million, with Android-powered devices pacing growth, a survey showed on Thursday.
The preliminary survey by business research firm IDC showed the tablet market grew 75.3 percent year over year in the quarter and rocketed 74.3 percent from the previous quarter's total of 30.1 million.
IDC said the strongest growth came from Android, including tablets made by South Korea's Samsung and Taiwan's Asus, which makes a Google-branded Nexus tablet.
Taiwan's Asustek aims to ship 24m notebooks in 2013
Asustek Computer has set goals of shipping 24 million notebooks and 12 million tablets in 2013, hiking 26.3 percent and 90.5 percent, respectively, from 2012. The company expects its shipments of 36 million units of notebook and tablets in total in 2013 to be the second largest next only to Apple among international vendors.
Apple iPad mini far outsells iPad 4 in Taiwan
In the Taiwan market, the sales volume of the iPad mini and the fourth-generation iPad (iPad 4) are at a ratio of 3:1 for mobile telecom carriers' contract-bundled sale and 4:1 for contract-free sales through the retail channel, according to sources with local retailers. Although the iPad mini enjoys better demand, channel retailers and the telecom carriers are not allowed to place orders directly for the device, the sources claimed.
Chinese home appliance retailer GOME expects full-year loss
GOME Electrical Appliances, backed by private equity firm Bain Capital, expects it made a loss last year because of a slowdown in China's economy and an unprofitable e-commerce business, the company said on Monday.
GOME, China's second largest home appliance retailer behind Suning Appliance, posted a net loss for the first nine months of 2012 and its shares halved in value last year.
Riding on home appliances, LG India aims at 20pc higher revenue
LG Electronics India is targeting a 20 percent increase in revenues riding on growth in the home appliances segment. The company, on Monday, launched its new range of refrigerators.
Soon Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India, said macro-economic factors such as inflation, material cost and overall economic growth had led to weaker consumer sentiments. “But the home appliances segment looks healthy and there is a genuine demand for these products in the country. We expect our revenues to grow by 20 percent especially in the segment,” he said.
In Asia's trend-setting cities, iPhone fatigue sets in
Apple Inc's iconic iPhone is losing some of its lustre among Asia's well-heeled consumers in Singapore and Hong Kong, a victim of changing mobile habits and its own runaway success.
Driven by a combination of iPhone fatigue, a desire to be different and a plethora of competing devices, users are turning to other brands, notably those from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, eating into Apple's market share.
