Samsung rebrands Galaxy S6 for Japan
Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge branding in Japan
By John-Patrick Gerard Thackeray
Korean electronics company Samsung is moving to increase its market share in Japan and is trying to do it in an unusual way. For its latest launch of the Galaxy S6, Samsung has removed most of its branding, releasing the S6 simply as the “Galaxy.”
Samsung says it wants to concentrate on one-word branding much like Sony does by shortening Playstation 4 to PS4. Pop-up shops in Japan are also called “Galaxy Store”, although a walk into one of these stores does show some Samsung branded products such as tablets and other accessories.
Samsung Galaxy store in Japan
However, one might well think that another company made S6 and S6 Edge accessories, because the packaging and design are so different to what customers might expect. If you were to pick up a new Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 edge from a network provider in Japan, you would notice that the Samsung brand is nowhere on the box or the phone itself. The brand is instead is replaced with the network provider’s brand.
Samsung Galaxy S6 & Edge
Some may say that Samsung is foolish not to include its brand on newly released smartphones, but it has done the same with older incarnations of its Galaxy brand, so it is not an entirely new development. Some analysts point out that Samsung has not got have a strong market share in Japan, where it does not produce or sell computers, printers or televisions. By sticking with an easy-to-recognize brand such as the “Galaxy,” it is creating market buzz and allowing it to compete better in a country where many big electronics companies such as Sony and Panasonic have recently pulled back from smartphone development.
Samsung Galaxy S6 & Edge
Smartphone production in Japan has been put on the backburner with more customers moving back to flip phones with basic smart functionality, because users want longer battery life and better connectivity.
Could this trend spread to other areas in Asia? A recent example in Korea is the surge in sales of Samsung’s smart flip phones, which are gaining popularity from the older generation.