Just over a month following HTC declaring they are pulling out of Brazil, South Korea is getting the same treatment by the Taiwanese phone manufacturer. Following poor sales in Samsung's home nation this decision has been made in an effort to “streamline operations”.
Analyst firm Canalys estimates that HTC controlled just one percent of the South Korean market earlier this year, compared to two percent in 2011. Meanwhile local companies dominate the market in South Korea, with Samsung, LG and Pantech controlling 90 percent of the market.
After seeing record growth up until 2011 the Taiwanese company has been struggling somewhat – hampered by seemingly poor One series sales and a slight delay to launching their phones in the United States earlier in the year.
KitGuru says: It was unlikely HTC was ever going to beat Samsung in its own backyard but pulling out entirely comes as a surprise move.