JEDDAH — For Samsung Electronics Company Limited, a global leader in technology, complacency is not its cup of tea. Such pioneering spirit brought innumerable accolades to Samsung, yet, the industry colossus does not rest on its laurels. The South Korean consumer electronics devices giant tirelessly embarks on a slew of new innovative products one after another, and at the same time spearheads corporate social responsibility initiatives across a range of economic, environmental and social issues in every community where it operates. Asked about the company's approach and how it successfully handles the multifarious tasks simultaneously amid challenges, Park JaeCheon, General Manager, Samsung Electronics, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, told the Saudi Gazette in an interview, that the company conscientiously follows its corporate mandate of “global harmony with people, society and environment” as enshrined in its 2012 Sustainability Report. Oh-Hyun Kwon, Vice Chairman & CEO, Samsung Electronics, said in the report that Samsung Electronics has been making continued efforts to promote sustainable management under the business philosophy of “devoting our human resources and technology to creating superior products and services, thereby contributing to a better global society.” As a company, Samsung Electronics strives to generate economic profits and simultaneously tries to tackle global issues such as the polarization of society, poverty and famine “in order to pass on our positive values to the society in which we operate, ” he noted. Operating under this principle, it is no surprise then that Samsung Electronics' brand value increases steadily. In 2012, the brand value was worth $23.43 billion, which was a 20 percent increase from the previous year. Its new feats catapulted the company to 9th place on the official Brand Index of the 10 most valuable brands in the world on the Interbrand List for 2012. Samsung's 40 percent rise in popularity from 17th place last year far exceeds the average 10 percent increase rate of the Top 100 Global Brands – a testament to Samsung's commitment to innovation and solutions which are changing the electronics industry, reinforcing their aspiration to create new technologies and innovative products that inspire the world, while delivering value to the lives of customers, partners and employees. In 2011, it was ranked 17th, according to Interbrand which annually ranks the Top 100 Brands in the world. Moreover, proving itself as an industry trendsetter, Samsung Electronics has been included since in 2009 in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which is one of the most authoritative sustainable management indexes. Samsung Electronics has been included in the list of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World at the World Economic Forum in Davos for three consecutive years, ranking 73rd in February 2012. In 2011, Samsung Electronics was named no. 1 in the global “Super sector leader” in Technology. Samsung's innovative smart technologies are taking the world by storm. The unassuming Samsung Electronics' general manager in the Kingdom said its mobile brand alone fuelled 92 percent growth from $12.4 billion to $23.9 billion. With 19.1 percent market share, Samsung became the global leader for smartphone shipments in 2011 surpassing competitors, while its contribution increased from 53 percent to 73 percent. Samsung TV category brand value continuously increased by enhanced market leadership while it's it, monitor, and digital appliance sectors showed 10 percent brand value growth from $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion. Besides, it was ranked 6th among the 10 Most Valuable Brands in the World with a worth of over SR142 billion ($38.1 billion) this year, he added. Samsung is introducing new technologies including OLED, 3-D and Internet-enabled TVs to reverse slowing industry sales. The sets using OLED, or organic light-emitting diode, technology can produce sharper and brighter images than current liquid crystal display models. For Samsung, it's all about covering all the bases. While it makes giant strides to reach new heights dishing out innovative smart consumer electronics devices, it sees to it that its two feet are solidly on the ground. For instance, while it makes a push for larger screens, the company ensures that it would be making smaller screens as well. Park said the company keeps churning out varying sizes of smartphone devises depending on country, needs and economy. That's why it settled down to having one 7 inch and one 10.1 inch device. Many, if not most, of the population have already adopted the on screen keyboard style. Still, he observed, there are plenty of others who would refuse to use a phone that doesn't have a physical keyboard. The feel of typing to something real is certainly different from typing on a flat glass. While the overall size of this potential market may be a lot smaller than the rest, Samsung is fully mindful of this population, he noted. And to keep pace with the ever-increasing consumer electronic demand, Samsung believes that the market must be equally supplied with the right technical know-how, services and personnel. With respect to this, Samsung partnered with the Technical & Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) to establish the Samsung Smart Academy that will train Saudi youth in electronics sector. The first such academy located in Jeddah will open soon. Park explained that initially, the class, which will serve as the pilot project, will have some 20 students who will be taught one course by Samsung technical instructors in a facility at TVTC built by Samsung and fitted with all the necessary Samsung equipment and gadgets to support the studies. The academy enrollees are current TVTC and College of Telecom and Electronics students who opted to take extra hours to gain an exclusive comprehensive knowledge on advanced technical information and skills about Samsung electronics devices, he added. The academy will pave the way for the students to have a hands-on experience on the latest electronic gadgets and “special hardware” to acquire the “smart education”, he further said. Park moreover said graduates of the course may have the option to be employed at Samsung Service Center in the Kingdom or at any of Samsung's seven partners in Saudi Arabia. In the long term, he intimated, Samsung would expand the academy to other strategic areas in the Kingdom where TVTC operates and also increase the number of courses taught to other business divisions such a TVs, laptops, cameras, etc. The Samsung general manager in Saudi Arabia said the Samsung Smart Academy in Jeddah is the first of its kind in the Middle East, as part of the company's global corporate social responsibility framework. Over the years, Samsung has also been regularly sponsoring global Olympic Games and extending passionate support to numerous other sporting activities as part of its CSR program. Such smart moves send Samsung to new heights, reaping untold plaudits both in CSR endeavors and new innovative products as well. Backed up with a strong R&D arm, Samsung's technological innovation happens at an extremely rapid pace. Samsung's engineering prowess gives it the cutting edge that leads to endless opportunities for social development and economic progress. Samsung allocates substantial portion of its revenue to research and development in its continuous quest for the best technology to meet the insatiable need and demand of consumers, he noted. And for Park, the mark of innovation is providing satisfaction to customers. He emphasized that a new technology must be smart enough to add value to the lives of customers it serves and be able to connect to other products, too. That is the philosophy of Samsung, he asserts. With that in mind, Samsung recently launched two smartphones in Saudi Arabia – the Galaxy S Duos and Galaxy S III Mini. Samsung has announced the launch of a new dual-SIM smartphone in the country recently dubbed as Galaxy S Duos. Originally announced last month, Samsung Galaxy S Duos features 4-inch display with 480x800p display, 1GHz processor, 5MP rear camera and VGA front camera. According to Samsung, it comes with Android 4.0, 512MB RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Powered by Smart dual-SIM feature, the smartphone allows users to simultaneously get calls on both SIM cards, so they will never miss a call even if they are already talking on one SIM or surfing the web using the other. The Galaxy S Duos is a new dual-SIM Android 4.0 handset featuring a 4-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. Aimed at customers who frequently switch SIM cards, either when crossing international borders or when managing work and personal commitments, the Duos includes what Samsung terms “always on” technology, allowing users to take calls using one account without disrupting activities on the other. The Duos comes with 4GB of internal storage upgradeable via a microSD slot. As for networking, it supports HSDPA, EDGE, and standard GPRS, and Samsung makes reference to an upcoming LTE version, the internal specs of which may differ. The device clearly takes its visual cues from the higher-spec Galaxy S III, though its body is shorter, narrower, and thicker. The Galaxy S III Mini comes bundled with 50GB of free Dropbox storage and games like Sims 3 and Bejewelled 2. Samsung Galaxy S III Mini runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) with Nature UI and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM. The phone will be available in 8GB and 16GB variants, which will support microSD card up to 32GB. Rear camera in the S III Mini has been scaled down to 5MP, from the 8MP snapper that came with the S III. The battery has also been reduced from 2,100mAh in Galaxy S III to 1,500mAh in Galaxy S III Mini.
Connectivity options in the two devices remain the same, such as NFC, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and S Beam. The S III Mini also comes with S Voice, the digital voice assistant that Samsung developed in order to rival with Apple's Siri. The introduction of new Samsung smartphones comes on the heels of record profit in the three months ended Sept. 30, with net profit surging 91 percent to 6.56 trillion won ($6 billion), the Suwon, South Korea-based company said recently. Samsung's operating profit surged 91 percent to 8.12 trillion won from 4.25 trillion won the year before. Operating profit from telecommunications more than doubled as Samsung's Galaxy devices widened their lead over Apple Inc.'s iPhone. For the first time in years, one single handset model has reportedly outsold the iPhone. Strategy Analytics said that more Samsung Galaxy S III phones than Apple iPhone 4S handsets were sold in third quarter of this year. Samsung Electronics moved 18 million such handsets, while Apple sold 16.2 million during the three-month period, says the research firm. Samsung is currently the only company that can come close to competing with Apple when it comes to smartphones. Samsung shipped 56.9 million smartphones in the third quarter, giving it a record 35 percent market share, compared with 17 percent for Apple, Strategy Analytics said. In overall handset sales, including basic types, Samsung remained the top seller, researcher IDC said separately. Sales of the Galaxy S III surpassed 20 million units in the 100 days after its May debut, Samsung said Sept. 6. In Saudi Arabia, sales volume for both Galaxy S III and other Samsung smartphones increased by more than 50 percent in September, Parker noted, from 48 percent for Galaxy III and 47 percent for other Samsung smartphones in the preceding month. Under the current thrust in smartphone and tablet technology, Samsung will certainly be at the forefront and keep its momentum in search for the best to satiate the ever-growing expectations of consumers and community as a whole. As a commitment, Samsung Electronics takes its role as a global corporate citizen very seriously and stands firmly behind its pledge to enriching people's lives, for it believes that sustainable management is anchored on co-prosperity with the community which is vital for its corporate survival.
