Samsung reportedly has 50 million unsold smartphones in inventory, comprised mostly of its Galaxy A-series devices.
The report comes from South Korean publication The Elec (via BGR), which noted that Samsung aimed to ship 270 million phones in 2022. The 50 million unsold devices make up about 18 percent of that sales goal.
Typically, companies aim to have unsold inventory make up about 10 percent of total shipments. Samsung’s higher unsold inventory indicates Samsung may be struggling to sell phones and likely overestimated sales.
The Elec also reports that Samsung produced around 20 million phones per month in January and February, but the number dropped to 10 million in May. The drop is likely a response to Samsung’s growing inventory.
Although the news certainly isn’t good for Samsung, it’s worth contextualizing the apparent decrease in phone sales. BGR points to an IDC report from earlier this month that warned of an expected 3.5 percent decline in smartphone shipments in 2022, with research director Nabila Popal pointing to “weakening demand, inflation, continued geo-political tensions, and ongoing supply chain constraints” as potential reasons.
Given ongoing economic turmoil, it makes sense that people would be less inclined to spend money on a new smartphone. Plus, Samsung isn’t the only company impacted — A Nikkei Asia report from March said Apple planned to produce 20 percent fewer iPhone SE units than originally planned for the quarter due to lower demand.
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