Samsung Electronics, the leading global manufacturer of televisions, has appointed a new head of its TV division for the first time in over two years amid intensifying competition from Chinese competitors both domestically and internationally.
Samsung revealed that Lee Won-jin has been appointed as the new head of the Visual Display Business. Formerly, Lee held the position of head of the Global Marketing Office.
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He assumes his new role following Yong Seok-woo, who will transition to serve as an adviser.
Samsung typically conducts its yearly management restructuring in December; however, the company has not revealed the rationale behind this year's leadership change.
The newly appointed leader is anticipated to offer a novel viewpoint and implement the necessary transformations for the television sector, which is currently encountering escalating market competition.
In the month of March, TCL Electronics, based in China, and Sony, from Japan, entered into binding agreements to form a strategic partnership within the home entertainment sector, thereby intensifying competition for their competitors.
The Nikkei newspaper earlier indicated that Samsung was evaluating the possibility of halting its sales of home appliances and televisions in China by the end of this year, due to intense competition from Chinese firms that have successfully offered lower prices than their competitors.
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Last month, Samsung reported a decrease in its television profits for the first quarter, attributing this decline to stagnant consumer demand and increasing raw material expenses. Prior to joining Samsung in 2014, Lee had been employed at Google.
Furthermore, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are making concerted efforts to rejuvenate their declining home appliance divisions, recalibrating their strategies in a bid to reclaim market share that has been ceded to Chinese competitors.
Lee is set to succeed Yong Seok-woo, who has been at the helm of the business since November 2023. Yong will transition to the role of adviser to Roh Tae-moon, the leader of Samsung’s Device Experience division, encompassing the visual display and mobile device sectors.
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Lee, an expert in marketing and software services, became part of Samsung's team in 2013, transitioning from his previous role at Google. Prior to his tenure as the global chief marketing officer, he was acknowledged for his pivotal role in launching Samsung TV Plus, an ad-supported streaming service at no cost.
This initiative effectively transformed Samsung's business strategy from a solely device-centric approach to one that incorporates a platform-based model.
The appointment was unconventional, as the company usually conducts management realignments in December, indicating a pressing need to tackle the risk of losing ground amid growing competition from Chinese competitors in the television sector.
The segment of Samsung Electronics that focuses on televisions and other household appliances has recently experienced underwhelming financial performance. The visual display and home appliance segments experienced operating losses of 100 billion won ($67.9 million) and 600 billion won in the third and fourth quarters of the previous year, respectively.
Nonetheless, they achieved an operating profit of 200 billion won in the first quarter of this year; however, this does not decisively indicate a recovery, as similar volatility has been observed in these businesses in recent years.