VietNamNet Bridge – The cooperation between Samsung and PSD is hoped to help Samsung obtain the biggest market share in Vietnam by 2013.

In April 2007, Nokia decided to admit one more distributor in Vietnam – PSD. The new distributor sold the first Nokia phones on the market in June 2007. By the end of 2007, the sales by PSD had accounted for 30 percent of sales by the four Nokia’s distributors. Meanwhile, by the end of 2008, PSD had become equal to FPT in the market share, which both made up 95 percent of total sales of Nokia products in Vietnam.

Saying goodbye to Nokia…

PSD’s General Director Huynh Van Thi, before taking the post, once worked for Boston Consulting Group, a well known business strategy consultancy firm – the advisor to Nokia in many markets, including Vietnam.

The deep knowledge of Thi about the market, the existing distributions of Nokia both made a great contribution to the success of PSD and Nokia in Vietnam later.

When PSD joined the market as the distributor of Nokia, the Finnish group held 53 percent of the Vietnamese market share and saw the signs of decreases. However, two or three months later, Nokia’s market share increased to over 60 percent.

According to GFK, a market survey firm, in January 2009, Nokia held 62 percent of the market share. In the golden age, Nokia held 70 percent of the market share.

It would be a great surprise to everyone that while Nokia sees the sharp falls of sales in other markets around the globe (down by 35 percent in Europe and 70 percent in China), still cements its first position in the Vietnamese market.

This attributed to the fact that distributors had to compete fiercely with each other in order to obtain the advantages in distributing Nokia’s products, which has helped Nokia make profit.

Unofficial analyses have pointed out that Nokia now still holds 50 percent of the market share in Vietnam, both in quantity and value. Meanwhile, the figure for Samsung is 25 percent.

However, the distributors, who were put under a hard pressure by the decline of Nokia worldwide, then had to reconsider their ways.

The limited benefits gained from selling Nokia products, the unsettled disagreements and the resentment against Nokia which always considered FPT as the key distributor, all led to the separation of PSD and Nokia.

The information about the separation was only officially announced one month after the decision was made by the two parties. However, prior to that, Petrosetco, the holding company of PSD, mentioned the termination of the contract with Nokia and the plan to cooperate with Samsung in a meeting.

…and joining hands with Samsung

Analysts have anticipated a new competition between Samsung and Nokia in the low cost mobile phone market, which Nokia is dominating.

When entering the market, Samsung then put a high hope on FPT. However, at that time, FPT was the main distributor for Nokia, who was in its golden age.

In February 2009, Samsung decided to cooperate with a new distributor – Phu Thai Group, hoping that Phu Thai would help make a breakthrough in the market. However, despite the great efforts, Samsung just comes second in the race of mobile phone manufacturers, though it is always the Number One in other similar newly emerging markets.

And now Samsung has put a high hope on PSD, which once helped Nokia regain its market share. Phung Tuan Ha, Petrosetco’s General Director, said PSD believes it can help boost the sales of Samsung with its advantages in logistics and the network of 1600 sales agents and 11 branches throughout the country.

Kim Chi