Mobile phone operators and large stores in Russia refuse to buy phones Samsung due to the very large number of defective units and Samsung's policy on providing warranty for them.
Mobile operators MegaFon and VimpelCom, plus two of the largest Russian stores called Euroset Holding and Svyaznoy have decided to suspend purchases of Samsung smartphones due to the previously mentioned reason.
According to mobile phone operators, the number of defective Samsung terminals represents 7% of total sales, the figure being higher than in the case of other mobile terminal manufacturers, so they have decided to completely suspend device purchases for the time being.
Apart from mobile phones, one of the operators has already blocked the purchase of tablets since June, preferring to sell only the units it has in stock, and according to its representatives, the sales of Samsung's mobile products would have decreased by up to 25% in Russia in the last month.
Carriers PJSC MegaFon and VimpelCom Ltd. and retailers Euroset Holding NV and Svyaznoy suspended ordering from the South Korean company. VimpelCom stopped purchases after faulty units among Samsung devices reached as high as 7 percent, more than among other brands, the carrier said in an e-mail.
The two mobile phone operators and the two big retailers have over 11.000 stores in Russia, so we are talking about a major problem for Samsung, one of the stores suspending purchases since May, right after the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge .
According to all 4 companies, they would have been forced to bear a large part of the costs generated by the repair of defective units brought by customers and from here the relationship with Samsung broke down, the Koreans now having to convince their partners to sell their products again .
Svyaznoy stopped ordering Samsung phones and tablets in June and keeps selling what's left of previously bought batches, spokeswoman Maria Zaikina said by phone. Euroset suspended purchases in May, Chief Executive Officer Alexander Malis said by phone.
Problems with Samsung products that break down quickly have existed before, but this is the first time that such a large group of partners refuses to buy units from the company due to the large number of defective units, and this will seriously affect Samsung.
Considering the courage of those in Russia, there is a possibility that other companies will act in a similar way in the future, so it would not be out of the question to believe that other companies will stop selling Samsung products.
The good part for Apple and Lenovo is that their products are starting to be promoted instead of Samsung's, so it will be interesting to see how the market share of the Koreans will evolve.
