[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics on Aug. 24 apologized to Korean customers for the delayed shipment of its hot-selling new smartphone Galaxy Note 7.
About 400,000 preorders have been made for the Note large-size smartphone in Korea before the official launch on Aug. 19. The figure is more than double that of the company’s flagship Galaxy S7 in March.
Customers stand in line outside a retail store in Seoul to purchase a Galaxy Note 7 phone on the launch day Aug. 19.
The unprecedented demand of the phone has resulted in dwindling inventory stocks and shipping delays.
The Blue Coral color has proven extremely popular, making up more than half of new purchases. Samsung plans to release a Black Onix model in Korea in October, possibly in response to Apple’s iPhone 7 launch in September.
The company said the shipment of preordered phones will be made by the end of the month.
“We are making all-out efforts to meet the soaring demand across all affiliates,” the company said in an online notice.
By Lee Ji-yoon (
jylee@heraldcorp.com)
