Samsung retailers threaten to stop sales over e-tailing

Samsung Electronics has got itself in trouble as hundreds of Samsung dealers across the country have threatened to boycott the company's products over pricing concerns.

The dealers said that they would stop stocking Samsung phones unless the South Korean tech giant takes steps to narrow the wide gap in pricing between its phones sold at various multi-brand outlets and on e-commerce sites.

Globally, Samsung has reported its worst quarterly profit in two years due to slowdown in sales of its smartphones and tablets. IDC estimates that Samsung's global smartphone shipments saw y-o-y drop in the second quarter, from around 33% market share to 25%. The company has attributed this to increasing competition from low- and mid-end Chinese phone makers.

Samsung's sales in the high-end category saw stiff competition from Sony and Apple's flagship devices. Its market share in the Rs 30,000-and-above category dropped by around 50% - from 72% in 2012 to 34% in 2013, according to IDC figures. In the same period, Sony's market share grew from 1% to 18% and Apple's market share grew from 18% to 22%.