‘Samsung recall threatens reputation’

AFP, SEOUL: Exploding batteries and an embarrassing recall of a flagship gadget during a controversial, closely-watched leadership transition—it’s been a bad year for Samsung, and analysts warn the trouble isn’t over yet.
With ever-fiercer competition in the saturated smartphone market, South Korea’s biggest firm is desperate to avoid a full-blown disaster that could cost billions, hammer its reputation and taint its new leadership.
Just weeks after the early roll out of the Galaxy Note 7 “phablet”, the world’s largest maker of smartphones was forced to recall 2.5 million units globally following complaints its battery exploded while charging.
With images of charred phones flooding social media, the unprecedented recall was a humiliation for a firm that prides itself as an icon of innovation and quality—and the timing of the crisis could not be worse.
The Note 7 was meant to underpin growth this year as Samsung struggles to boost sales, squeezed by Apple in the high-end sector and Chinese rivals in the low-end market, as profit has stagnated.

Samsung recall threatens reputation

AFP, SEOUL: Exploding batteries and an embarrassing recall of a flagship gadget during a controversial, closely-watched leadership transitionits been a bad year for Samsung, and analysts warn the trouble isnt over yet. With ever-fiercer competition in the saturated smartphone market, South Koreas biggest firm is desperate to avoid a full-blown disaster that could cost billions, hammer its reputation and taint its new leadership. Just weeks after the early roll out of the Galaxy Note7 phablet, the worlds largest maker of smartphones was forced to recall 2.5 million units globally following complaints its battery exploded while charging. With images of charred phones flooding social media, the unprecedented recall was a humiliation for a firm that prides itself as an icon of innovation and qualityand the timing of the crisis could not be worse. The Note 7 was meant to underpin growth this yearas Samsung struggles to boost sales, squeezed by Apple in the high-end sector and Chinese rivals in thelow-end market, as profit has stagnated.