Samsung opens shop in Kisumu

By STANDARD REPORTER

Consumer electronics firm, Samsung Electronics East Africa, has stepped up its nationwide market expansion plans with the opening of a fully-fledged service centre in Kisumu.

The move by Samsung, which is part of a global expansion strategy comes hot on the heels of a similar opening in Nairobi barely a month ago as the firm increasingly moves to raise its market share in Kenya.

Speaking in Kisumu during the opening of the new Samsung Customer Service Plaza at Swan Centre, Samsung Regional Head of Service Ms Koki Muia confirmed the firm is investing heavily in its bid to rollout a sound after sales service infrastructure.

As part of Samsung’s global investment plans, the local unit is also raising its market presence through collaborative business partnerships with local retailers and technology service providers.

INCREASED BUDGET

Earlier in the year, global holding firm, Samsung Group, which includes Samsung Electronics Co, announced that it had raised its 2012 investment to a record $41.4 billion and is the only technology firm that has raised its investment budgets this year as other firms cut down.

In Kenya, the new service centres are manned by highly trained engineers and also hold genuine Samsung spare parts for a range of Samsung mobile handsets, TV’s Microwaves, air conditioner units and refrigerators among other appliances.

"Given the overwhelming support from our customers, we have embarked on a strategic plan to rollout fully fledged customer service centres in all major towns," Ms. Muia said.

"Our customers in Nyanza region will now enjoy peace of mind assured that our customer service plaza can handle both major and minor repairs for their appliances."

Globally, Samsung Electronics makes mobile processors to power Apple’s iPhone and iPad as well as its own Galaxy line of mobile products.

Its display unit, Samsung Mobile Display, is also a near monopolistic supplier of organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, which are mainly used in high-end mobile gadgets and are set to become dominant in TV screens to replace LCD.

MARKET SHARE

Samsung’s OLED display revenues are expected to exceed $20 billion by 2018 to account for 16 per cent of the total display industry, up from the current 4 per cent, according to research firm DisplaySearch.