Samsung Electronics stands to profit from production problems in China due to the 2019-nCoV virus outbreak. Apple on Monday warned that the company would not meet its guidance for the quarter. Having already ceded China to rivals, Samsung is in position to reap the rewards of a years-long bet on low-cost smartphone manufacturing in Vietnam.
Half of Samsung’s smartphones are now made in Vietnam, where the coronavirus that has crippled the China operations of Apple and many other firms has so far had only a limited impact on its production.
Apple said on Monday it would not meet its revenue guidance for the March quarter due to the coronavirus impact on both production and sales in China, where most iPhones are made. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp last week also flagged a hit to its March quarter sales…
“Samsung is better positioned to weather the virus fallout than its formidable rivals such as Huawei and Apple,” a person with knowledge of Samsung’s supply chain told Reuters.
MacDailyNews Take: Samsung is only in position to profit from this China virus because they lost China years ago. That said, this coronavirus outbreak could light a fire under Apple to finally diversify their production in order to mitigate risk from having too many of the eggs in one basket (China). If so, something good could come from it, at least.
‘Tis prudent, of course, to not keep all of your eggs in one basket, as Apple clearly sees now. — MacDailyNews, June 21, 2019