SoftBank, Japanese multinational telecommunications and Internet corporation, is set to sell Samsung Electronics’ smartphones for the first time in four years. The company, which used to sell Apple’s iPhone exclusively, seemed to make the decision to reduce its reliance on Apple as other rivals including NTT Docomo and KDDI began to launch iPhones.
Samsung Electronics is set to sell its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge via SoftBank as early as next week, according to local media outlet. The Samsung’s flagship smartphones were already rolled out via other telecom operators last month.
Like other Samsung phones, its logos will be removed from the phones considering the Japanese consumer sentiment favoring local products.
SoftBank had a honeymoon relation with Apple by excluding selling its smartphones for some years. However, as its rivals KDDI and NTT Docomo joined the sales in 2011 and 2013 respectively, it seems to find it necessary to reduce its reliance on iPhone and diversify products.
Even for Samsung, which is struggling to sell its products in the market, can be another opportunity to grab more market shares, according to local analysts.
Apple now has a 40 percent market share in the Japanese market, followed by Sony (18.1%), Sharp (12.4%), Fujitsu (8.8%) and Samsung Electronics (5.6 percent), according to Strategy Analytics.
By Yeon Choul-woong
