[News] Samsung Reportedly Seeks Transformation Tips from Japanese Peers like Sony and Hitachi

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Any suggestions for Samsung to get out of the rut? The remedy for its slow transformation may be hidden in the experience of Japanese peers. According to reports by Nikkei and Korea media outlet edaily, Samsung has begun researching Japanese companies, led by its Future Business Planning Division.

Citing Nikkei’s report on October 16^th, edaily notes that Samsung’s Future Business Planning Division, which is directly under the charge of Chairman Jay Y. Lee himself, plans to analyze the operations of 110 Japanese companies to study the decline and revival of the Japanese electronics industry. The main objective of the initiative is to identify and nurture business opportunities for Samsung, the reports suggest.

Notably, the research is said to include major tech firms such as Sony Group, which has gradually shifted its focus from hardware to content-oriented businesses like gaming, music, and film, edaily notes. Hitachi, a paradigm of downsizing its original business empire to focus on key growth areas instead, is rumored to be another research subject.

The reports indicate that Samsung’s Future Business Planning Division is gathering not only top employees from various divisions of the group but also individuals with business experience from outside, as it tries to “seek answers from the past for the future.”

Interestingly though, Samsung seems to be in the same shoes as its Japanese rivals a few years ago. Nikkei states that the South Korean tech giant surpassed Japanese companies in the semiconductor and television sectors, but now has found itself in a defensive position when being gradually caught up by Chinese companies, much like the situation Japanese firms used to get stuck in.

Samsung reported its third-quarter earnings last week. The company’s operating profit was initially expected to exceed 10 trillion won, but the actual performance fell short of that target. In terms of chip making business, it is lagging behind foundry giant TSMC due to unstable 3nm yield rates. Regarding memory business, SK hynix is claiming the throne of HBM amid AI boom.

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(Photo credit: Samsung)