Samsung pairs with Suning to make gains in Chinese smartphone market

South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is deepening its strategic cooperation with Chinese commercial giant Suning Holdings Group in both online and offline retail channels, in a bid to gain more market share in China's cutthroat smartphone sector.

Samsung's smartphones will cover the brick-and-mortar stores owned by Suning in fourth to six-tier cities, and the sales of its smartphones via Suning's online platform is expected to increase 300 percent this year. Moreover, the partners have jointly launched four mid-range Galaxy A series smartphones to lure more young consumers in China. 

According to Samsung, the in-depth strategic partnership with Suning shows the company's confidence and determination to come back to the world's largest smartphone market. In the future, the two companies will carry out closer cooperation in brand building, products and retail channels.

Samsung is attaching huge importance to the Chinese market and will intensify its efforts in sports marketing and localization in China.

In December, it become the sponsor of the Jiangsu Suning Football Club from 2019 to 2021, with the Samsung logo appearing on the players' shirts in all matches during the next three seasons.

Despite being the world's biggest smartphone maker, Samsung's sales are close to negligible in China. According to market consultancy Strategy Analytics, in the second quarter of last year, Samsung sales made up less than 1 percent of the Chinese market.

Statistics from market research firm International Data Corp showed that Huawei continued to lead China's smartphone market during the fourth quarter of last year, with a 29 percent market share, followed by Oppo and Vivo. Samsung is losing ground most on midrange and cheaper smartphones.