In a surprising move, Samsung has decided to drop its logo from the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge units sold in Japan. A Samsung spokeswoman confirmed Saturday that the Korean company had removed its corporate logo from the Japanese version of the S6 and S6 Edge. Instead, the devices will carry the logos of respective carriers. In Japan, the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are presented as Docomo Galaxy and KDDI au Galaxy.
Galaxy a ‘well-established’ brand in Japan
Samsung did not provide the reason behind the move. But a company official told The Korea Herald that Galaxy was a “well-established” brand in Japan, so the company decided to keep its logo off the new phones. The world’s largest smartphone is still struggling to gain traction in the Japanese market, which is dominated by Apple with over 40% share. According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung is the fifth-largest smartphone company in Japan with less than 5% market share.
The new flagship devices are already available in more than 20 markets, and will go on sale in Japan on April 23rd. Samsung hopes that its decision to remove the company logo would result into more Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge sales in Japan. The two new devices are selling like hot cakes in other markets. The Korean company said last week that its supply will be constrained ‘for a while’ due to solid demand.
Rebranding strategy goes beyond the Galaxy S6
Samsung expects to sell at least 70 million units of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge worldwide through the end of this year. However, the rebranding strategy goes beyond Samsung’s flagship products. The company has also renamed its Japanese Facebook page to ‘Galaxy Mobile Japan.’ There is no reference to ‘Samsung.’
Earlier this year, the Korean company’s weak position in Japan fueled speculations that Samsung was considering exiting the country. But now the company is trying to up the ante by removing all the direct links to ‘Samsung.’ It would be interesting to see if the strategy helps Samsung increase market share.
