Exclusive: Samsung weighs partial exit from appliance business amid Chinese competition

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• ·Riding a semiconductor boom, the electronics giant may cut its losses for divisions languishing in the red — the very units that kept it afloat during the earlier chip downturn.
• ·Samsung Electronics is considering discontinuing some of its home appliances this year as part of an ongoing downsizing of its consumer electronics segment, as capital expenditures become increasingly concentrated in more profitable AI-related segments such as memory.
• ·"The Digital Appliances [DA] division is considering exiting the stick vacuum cleaner, microwave and dishwasher businesses by the end of this year," said a source familiar with the matter.
• ·"Those product categories have relatively small market shares, and they have consistently generated weak profitability." The DA unit produces a range of kitchen and laundry appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, vacuum cleaners and air conditioners.
• ·The move would mark a significant step beyond outsourcing, potentially leading to a full exit from the product categories as Samsung accelerates a portfolio reshuffle.