Japanese Media: Samsung Likely to Exit Chinese Home Appliance Market by 2026

Nikkei News reported, citing sources, that South Korea's Samsung may exit the consumer appliance and TV sales market in China within this year due to declining price competitiveness. However, the report mentioned that Samsung will continue to produce appliances in China. Sources said Samsung will make a final decision on exiting the sales market by the end of April. Even if it exits the sales market, Samsung will maintain its production lines for refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners in China as a hub for supplying overseas markets. The report noted that the main reason for the exit is the loss of price competitiveness. Currently, Chinese appliance makers not only offer low prices but also improved quality, increasing their global influence. Samsung issued a statement in response to the news, saying that the company regularly reviews its global business structure based on changes in the operating environment and has not yet made any decisions regarding its China operations. Chinese financial media reported in early April that Samsung's strategy for the China market would be adjusted, potentially retaining only mobile and semiconductor memory businesses, with the latter becoming the focus. Its appliance business in China has been shrinking and may transition to an outsourced agency model in the second half of this year.