SAMSUNG TO DOUBLE SALES TO $110 BILLION ?

[Anonymous]

Samsung to Double Sales to $110 Bil.
Samsung Electronics seeks to join the rank of the world’s top three electronics firms in 2010 by doubling its annual revenue.
Samsung Electronics chief executive and vice chairman Yun Jong-yong Thursday disclosed the grandiose plan at its session with analysts about its future growth strategy
“We aim to double last year’s turnover by 2010 to become one of the top three electronics companies in the world both in quantity and quality,’’ Yun said.
The bold scheme means that Samsung should top 115 trillion won ($110 billion) in sales by then since it chalked up a 57.6 trillion won turnover last year.
To join the global top three, Samsung will need to leapfrog several other leading high-tech players such as International Business Machines, Siemens, Hitachi, Matsush*ta and Hewlett Packard.
According to the U.S.-based magazine Fortune, Samsung was the world’s sixth-largest info-tech or electronics corporation last year following the above-mentioned five powerhouses.
“To achieve the top-three target, we are determined to increase the number of our world No. 1 products, from the current eight to more than 20 products,’’ the 61-year-old Yun said.
Currently, Samsung is in the driver’s seat supplying such items as liquid crystal displays, memory chips and code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile handsets.
Yun picked eight growth engines to reach the goal; large-storage memory chips, displays, mobile communications, digital TVs, printers, semiconductor systems, mass storage and air control systems.
On top of the eight short and medium-term growth phases, Yun identified four long-run businesses in personal multimedia devices, home networks, ubiquitous health and home care robots.
“All the future cash cows will be nurtured via in-house innovation efforts in six segments _ product, technology, marketing, process, global operation and corporate culture,’’ the lifelong Samsung employee noted.
Action Plans
After Yun presented the five-year master plan at the two-day event attended by about 300 analysts at home and abroad, the heads of the firm’s business divisions followed with their own action plans.
Samsung chief technology officer and vice chairman Lee Yoon-woo predicted the firm’s research staff would reach 52,000 in 2010, representing about 32 percent of the company’s employees. The current number of 26,000 out of 100,000-plus workers amounts to about 24 percent of employees.
“On the back of this powerful research investment, we aspire to be one of the top three companies in new patent holdings by 2007,’’ Lee said.
President Hwang Chang-gyu, who is in charge of the semiconductor business, said Samsung plans to achieve $61 billion in sales with 24 domestic fabrication plants and research labs by 2012.
President Lee Ki-tae, who takes charge of the mobile phone sector, showed a visionary strategy of combining all digital devices into a cell phone for an all-in-one terminal.
In particular, Lee demonstrated Samsung is at the forefront of digital convergence by showcasing the world’s first handset with a built-in 8-megapixel camera, which is likely to hit the local market his month.
“We will continue our tactics of maintaining a premium brand. Through raising awareness of our high-end products in the minds of end users, we will sustain high-flying selling prices and profitability,’’ Lee said.
President Lee Sang-wan said Samsung is intent on doubling turnover from the sales of liquid crystal display to $20 billion by 2010.
President Choi Gee-sung at the digital media division said the company will lead the expansion of the digital consumer world by achieving $30 billion in sales by 2008.

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December 13, 2005 at 10:15 AM