High Prices Don't Make Your Brand "Elite"

Wireless

Samsung’s been talking for a long time about how its strategy for the mobile phone market is to focus on expensive high-end devices with fat margins — something that’s delivered debatable success. Its latest move is to partner up with pricey electronics manufacturer Bang & Olufsen to sell a 1,000-euro mobile phone. It’s hard to see how this will do anything to help make Samsung an “elite brand” — its name will take a back seat to Bang & Olufsen’s (especially considering it will be sold in B&O shops) and just because something is expensive doesn’t mean people will perceive it as high-end (or that it will be successful, just ask Liebermann). Funnily enough, on the same day Samsung shows off the B&O phone, an executive from the company says it’s eyeing the growth in low-end handsets for emerging markets and reconsidering its high-end strategy.