While there have been reports that Samsung may struggle to meet demand in certain international markets for its new Galaxy S4 smartphone, its Africa subsidiary has no such worries.
Samsung Electronics Africa vice-president and COO, George Ferreira, says volume units ordered should be more than adequate for the continent’s customers and have been months in the planning.
“Africa put in plans based on the demand plan we got from all our operators and distributors,” Ferreira says. “And we can confidently say that we will match all orders and demand that this product creates. On launch – on Saturday at 10:00am – we may struggle a bit, but within two to three weeks there should be enough stock across all our African suppliers.”
Craige Fleischer, director of mobile communications at the company, echoes Ferreira’s sentiments.
“We have been planning this for a long time,” Fleischer says. “We’ve got to be clear that we are launching a flagship product at the same time as the rest of the world – the product is only available across the globe at the exact same time. We are following the sun around the globe and that’s why the South African launch is at 10:00am.
“I think we do have sufficient stock,” Fleischer quips, “but it would be great if we did sell out.”