Citing a shift in consumer trends, Samsung will no longer be supplying notebooks to the South African market, effective April 2014.
The decision was taken as the company has moved its focus towards solutions that are aligned with the evolution of the technology market and the changing end user demands.
Latest insights from the International Data Corporation (IDC) revealed that the PC market in South Africa declined by 18.8% in the final quarter of 2013, while shipments of tablets increased 107,1% year-on-year during the same period.
“Changes in the mobile market offer us the opportunity refine our product offering. Samsung is well positioned to deliver innovative solutions that meet the needs of South Africans, with tablet devices such as the Galaxy NotePro 12.2-inch, consumers can still have it all – productivity, performance and portability,” says Craige Fleischer, director of mobile communications at Samsung Electronics South Africa.
Samsung believes this evolution is being led by the way consumers interact with their devices and the functionality that the increasingly sophisticated consumer requires. The professional consumer, or “prosumer”, now expects flexibility, mobility, power and the ability to switch between work and play environments with ease.
“Tablets are increasingly being favoured locally; therefore Samsung is taking a targeted approach to offer feature-rich technology ecosystems to meet consumer needs,” says Fleischer.
Product warranties and service support for notebooks already in the market will remain available through Samsung Smart Care Centres nationwide.