Samsung and Avid: A winning alliance

Technological trends are sought after for their ingenuity and convenience. But when everyone else starts riding the hi-tech wave, figuring out which is special among the gadgets of the next generation gets pretty mundane. It is still novelty that sets one apart. Followers eventually fade into the technological abyss, but the innovators get noticed for coming up with new things.

Innovation and reinvention has in fact been the story of electronics giant Samsung in recent years. Known globally as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., it is one of the fastest growing brands today, leading in semiconductor, telecommunications, digital media, and digital convergence technologies to produce high quality digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones, and TFT-LCDs.

Last year saw the parent company’s sales shoot up to $57 billion with a net income of $7.6 billion. In the Philippines, Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. (SEPCO) grew an impressive 35 percent in sales as well.

SEPCO president Spencer Shim relates this trend with the organization’s renewed commitment to its ideals. He says, "The increment in Samsung’s revenues in spite of tough market conditions is attributable to our corporate philosophy of balance that governs our operations and activities. By achieving balance in terms of product range, marketing efforts, and over-all business portfolio, we expect to surpass last year’s profits of $300 million."

"Samsung has achieved balance in two important aspects," Shim explains further. "By being a total home and office solutions provider, Samsung has offered every cutting-edge digital product which our customers need and require to their satisfaction. Also, our company has adopted a ’globally-local’ approach in our marketing strategies to suit the Filipino consumers we serve. We strive to make sure that every Samsung undertaking is localized."

And so it follows that SEPCO should choose its partners carefully — someone with an intimate knowledge of the Filipino market and is willing to go the extra mile to bring them the best consumer electronics out there. One such partner is AV Surfer of the Avid Sales Corp., a specialty electronics outlet which offers top of the line home theater systems, gadgets, and peripheral accessories from specially selected leading brands.

Operations manager Christiane Sherwin Chan says, "most of our product line-up is geared towards the high-end market. The other players concentrate on being big, with complete lines of appliances, but we just select niche markets. And one of the strategies that we want to pursue is providing accessories with every electronics or gadget. For example, if you buy a camera, we see to it that you have the complete accessories to go with it. I think this is one of our strengths."

But more than the products, AV Surfer knows how to give customers more than what they expect, to "add more value to the existing value", as Chan puts it. "The zero percent interest tie-up with credit card companies is already generic," he says. "So we list down the brand, model, and specs of the products which can be bought with zero percent interest in a leaflet, and aside from the freebies given away by the brands themselves, AV Surfer also includes other prizes like a free overnight stay for two in a five-star hotel."

Somehow, freebies or no freebies, it’s easy to understand how SEPCO and AV Surfer have such an effective alliance. Both see their products as a way of reaching out to consumers — a means to uplift quality of life. But ultimately, it is also how Samsung has adopted the latest technologies and put these into an engaging, hi-tech package that has made a lot of difference. "Its image as a premiere brand is enhanced by its product line," Chan analyzes. "When the flat screen TVs came out a few years ago, I thought that was it," he adds. "The later models would only have to improve on aesthetic design. Then, Samsung came out with the Slimfit technology. That was something customers really appreciated."

SEPCO is also quick to praise — and support — its dealers. "Given that our valued industry partners are instrumental in ensuring that our cutting-edge products ultimately reach the end-users, we have launched innovative marketing programs such as the Samsung Academy," Shim shares. "This is a training center which teaches customer touchpoints like frontliners, sales personnel, and dealers in product know-how, customer advocacy, successful branding strategies, and retail marketing practices."