The top sales for the year’s 4th quarter were between Samsung and Apple. Though Samsung is a strong competitor, Apple ranked higher in popularity in 2011. The iPhone 4S, the last of its series created by former Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, enjoyed immense popularity in the USA and abroad to keep this American brand at the top of its game.
Apple brought the iPhone 4S to China in mid-January, and will commence distribution of the iPad 3 during the latter half of the year. In addition, Apple will introduce a top of the line product, Apple TV. Some experts are speculating that Apple will continue its popularity reign over Samsung in annual sales. Apple sold KRW 52.3 trillion and KRW 19.6 trillion in operating income in the latter part of 2012, while Samsung earned KRW 47 trillion in sales and KRW 5.2 trillion in operating income.
This means that Samsung dropped in sales in comparison with Apple, with the operating income of Apple being quadruple that of Samsung. The business performance of Apple in the fourth quarter was higher than most financial market experts anticipated. The performance of Apple in the fourth quarter was due to the immense iPhone sales in major markets such as the U.S. and Japan.
Apple increased its market shares in the U.S. and Japan after releasing the iPhone 4S. Apple announced that its iPhone sales reached 37.04 million in the fourth quarter. Sales of the iPad stood at 15.43 million, an increase of 111% from last year.
“The growth of Apple is strong,” said CEO Tim Cook. “We have amazing products to make our customers happy.” Apple is expected to lead the electronic industry in 2012. Recently, the iPhone 4S landed in China and has enjoyed explosive popularity. The most innovative IT company of today is planning to continue to take the lead in the IT industry by launching the iPad 3 with HD-class resolution in the second quarter and Apple TV in the second half. Therefore, the launch of the Apple TV means that Apple may become a big threat to Samsung and LG Electronics in the TV market.
Apple announced that it would achieve KRW 36.6 trillion in sales and earnings per share of USD 8.5 in the first quarter. Apple is expected to accomplish the goals with ease due to its immense popularity. Apple is also expected to run neck and neck with Samsung in terms of annual sales by launching its new products. Samsung will also launch a counterattack with its smart pads, semiconductors and TVs. In particular, Samsung expects a big increase in TV sales thanks to this year’s London Olympic Games. But some experts point out that Samsung needs a better content market like Apple’s iTunes and App Store to stay competitive in the future.
