起火門讓三星面對焦灼命運
A popular joke going around the telecoms industry of late is that Samsung has outmanoeuvred Apple in smartphone innovation — adding a powerful heater to its Galaxy Note 7 to warm the hands of users in cold winter months.
最近電信行業普遍流傳的一個笑話是，三星(Samsung)在智能手機創新上比蘋果(Apple)更勝一籌——它給Galaxy Note 7加上一個功率強大的加熱器以便讓用戶在寒冷的冬季暖手。
Yet the smartphone’s overheating safety issues have become no laughing matter for the South Korean company, after it pulled the plug on a model that only a few months earlier had some in the industry arguing it was the best handset they had ever seen.
然而，對這家韓國公司來說，Note 7過熱引起的安全問題一點兒也不好笑，此前該公司宣佈停售Note 7，而就在幾個月前，業內一些人還辯稱，這是他們見過的最好的手機。
The move to warn consumers to stop using the fire-prone model, then to kill the handset model for good, in a frantic 24-hour period, has not only hit Samsung’s share price and reputation, but also raised concerns its standing as the world’s largest phonemaker could be under threat. One network source told the Financial Times that sales of the Galaxy S7 have started to dip this week, in what could be an early sign the brand has taken a big hit in consumers’ eyes.
在手忙腳亂的24小時內，三星先是警告消費者停止使用這款容易着火的手機，隨後宣佈永久停售Note 7，這些舉措不僅影響了該公司的股價和聲譽，而且還讓人擔憂它作爲全球最大手機制造商的地位可能受到威脅。一位消息人士向英國《金融時報》表示，Galaxy S7的銷售本週開始下滑，這被消費者認爲可能是該品牌遭受重創的早期跡象。
Samsung had initially won praise for its handling of the safety issues that plagued the Galaxy Note 7 after its launch in August. It moved to replace 2.5m of the phones in early September, amid reports that the handset was overheating and catching fire. DesPite creeping concern about the phones, as airlines and consumer watchdogs continued to issue warnings about the Note 7, Samsung shares hit an all-time high last week as investors shook off the financial impact of the initial recall. The replacement programme and a switch in battery supplier appeared to have drawn a line under the affair.
Galaxy Note 7在今年8月上市後，三星最初對安全問題的處理贏得了讚譽。有報道稱Note 7過熱，容易起火爆炸，因此它在9月初爲250萬這款手機提供換機服務。儘管人們對這款手機的擔憂漸漸加劇，儘管航空公司和消費者保護團體持續發佈警告，但隨着投資者消化最初召回事件的財務影響，三星股價上週漲至史上最高水平。換機計劃和更換電池供應商似乎讓該事件告一段落。
Yet that confidence was shattered when a spate of further fires caused US networks to withdraw the replacement model, with Samsung following suit this week with a total withdrawal of the Note 7 from the market. Its second recall has raised question marks over whether it had sufficiently investigated the matter in the first place.
然而，隨後發生的一系列起火事件使得美國運營商召回新的Note 7，本週該公司又從市場全面召回Note 7，投資者的信心遭到破壞。第二次召回令人質疑三星最初是否對該事件展開了充分調查。
“It is easy to overlook the first recall, but much more difficult to overlook the second,” analysts at Credit Suisse said in a note on Monday.
瑞信(Credit Suisse)分析師們週一在報告中表示：“接受第一次召回很容易，但忽視第二次召回要困難得多。”
Lowell McAdam, chief executive of Verizon, said that Samsung had suffered a “major black eye” as a result of the unprecedented second recall. “This is by far the biggest concern I have seen in cell phones during my tenure,” he said, at an industry conference in California.
Verizon首席執行官洛厄爾•麥克亞當(Lowell McAdam)表示，史無前例的第二次召回沉重打擊三星，給其留下“大黑眼圈”。他在加州的一個行業會議上說：“這是我在任期間見到的對手機的最嚴重擔憂。”
The immediate financial damage of scrapping the Note 7 is significant, with 4m already having been produced. Analysts estimated that the costs could be $2.5bn. The move will also create a $17bn black hole in its sales outlook, based on Samsung’s expectations that it would sell around 19m units.
召回Note 7對三星財務產生的直接影響是顯著的，有400萬臺Note 7已被生產出來。分析師們估計，成本可能高達25億美元。按照三星銷售約1900萬臺Note 7的預期計算，此舉也將給三星銷售前景留下170億美元的黑洞。
The Note remains only a small segment of the broad range of Samsung devices, given it produces 300m smartphones a year, but the reputational damage could be severe and cause consumers to reconsider their attachment to the brand. The latest industry data from Gartner shows Samsung’s market share rose to 22.3 per cent in the second quarter from 21.8 per cent in the same period a year earlier, as sales surpassed those of Apple and Huawei, the number two and three performers, combined.
鑑於三星一年生產3億部手機，這款Note依然是該公司龐大手機系列中的一小部分，但名譽上的損害可能非常嚴重，並促使消費者重新考慮對該品牌的忠誠度。高德納(Gartner)最新發布的行業數據顯示，在今年第二季度，三星市場份額從去年同期的21.8%升至22.3%，銷量超過排名第二和第三的蘋果和華爲(Huawei)之和。
Yet the freefall in market share of former powerhouses Nokia, Motorola and BlackBerry proves that sustained dominance in the smartphone sector is difficult to achieve.
然而，曾經的手機巨頭諾基亞(Nokia)、摩托羅拉(Motorola)和黑莓(BlackBerry)市場份額的暴跌證明，很難持續佔據智能手機領域的霸主地位。
Google’s Pixel phone, due to hit the shelves later this month, was already tuned to target Samsung, which has built its phone empire on the search company’s Android operating system. Analysts said Huawei and LG were also well positioned to benefit if Samsung started to seep share, but Google appears to have timed its run into its own hardware well. “This particular opportunity is Google’s to lose,” said Richard Windsor at Edison Investment Research.
谷歌(Google)將於本月晚些時候上市的Pixel手機已經將矛頭對準三星，而三星正是利用谷歌的安卓操作系統創建了自己的手機帝國。分析師們表示，如果三星開始喪失市場份額，華爲和LG也很有可能受益，但谷歌進軍自己的硬件業務似乎找對了時機。Edison Investment Research的理查德•溫德索(Richard Windsor)表示：“失去這個特殊機遇將是谷歌的過錯。”
The high-profile failure of the Note 7 has also dealt a blow to Samsung’s confidence, after its recent struggles to revive its core smartphone business. “They got their mojo back with the S7 so they’re really hurting now. It’s humiliating,” said one industry source.
Note 7引人注目的失敗還重創了三星的信心，近期該公司難以重振其核心的智能手機業務。一位業內人士表示：“他們曾利用S7恢復了元氣，因此現在他們真的感到難受。這太丟人了。”
The stakes are high, with Samsung historically deriving two-thirds of its profit from the smartphone market. “Samsung’s superb profitability in Android handsets is based on the fact that it out-ships its nearest competitor by more than 2 to 1, and a big loss of brand equity will give Huawei an opportunity to close the gap,” said Mr Windsor. “This will be highly detrimental for Samsung’s profitability in handsets leading us to be much more nervous with regard to the long-term outlook.”
智能手機業務對三星至爲關鍵，歷史上該公司三分之二的利潤來自智能手機市場。溫德索表示：“三星在安卓系統手機上的超強盈利能力基於如下事實，它的出貨量比最接近的競爭對手多出兩倍多，而此次品牌資產的巨大損失將讓華爲有機會縮減差距。這將極大地損害三星手機業務的盈利能力，從而讓我們更加擔心該公司的長期前景。”
The South Korean company could yet choose to retire the whole Note brand. Sources said it was still too early to determine whether the model would survive in a revamped form.
三星還可以選擇放棄整個Note系列。消息人士稱，該公司迄今尚未決定是否經過調整後繼續保留Note系列。
How it handles the fallout of the Note 7 saga could well define whether Samsung can retain its grasp on the premium end of the smartphone market or if its brand is tainted beyond repair.
三星如何處理Note 7事件可能決定該公司是繼續保住智能手機市場的優勢地位，還是從此一蹶不振。
