Thai Samsung Electronics has reaffirmed its goal to achieve revenue of US$1 billion next year a US$1.5 billion in 2010 despite expected poor economic conditions. The Korean company has set ambitious growth targets for Thailand and other markets as it prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary of global operations in 2010.
This year, the company believes it will meet its Thai sales target of US$700 million, a 33 percent increase from last year.
Marketing director Wichai Pornpratang said the right marketing strategy and investment in research and development would be key drivers for the company, which will spend 10 percent of total revenue on R&D.
Samsung operates 26 R&D centers worldwide including a hub in Sowan, South Korea.
Its marketing strategy focuses on design, advanced technology, and a full range of services related to its products. Audio and visual products account for 40 percent of its total revenue, home appliances 20 percent, IT products 15 percent and other products the remainder.
"We have found that customer behavior has been changed. Digital technology is becoming a part of life because people believe it will help make their lives easier. This is a trend and we can't resist," said Mr Wichai.
He said that adoption of digital technology in Thailand was not as high in some developed markets but the country would catch up soon.
In addition to offering products featuring higher technology and better design in the market, Samsung is looking to expand its customer base. Mr Wichai noted that younger-minded consumers placed high importance on design and technology, and would be a key target group of the company next year.
"It is out-of-date and not sufficient to simply segment target groups by age or gender. I think the young-minded group is quite large in Thailand," said Mr Wichai.
Manatase Annawat, the company's business group leader for corporate marketing, said Samsung now led the market in Thailand for LCD television sets with a 35 percent share. It also ranks first in flat-screen TVs (32 percent), plasma TVs (33 percent), and side-by-side refrigerators (68 percent).
Globally, Samsung Electronics leads the world market in components such as DRAM (dynamic random access memory) at 29 percent and SRAM (static RAM) at 33 percent.
In 2010, Samsung Electronics also aims to be the world leader in revenue among electronics companies. Last year, it ranked third at US$105 billion behind HP at US$118.4 billion and Siemens with US$107.4 billion.
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