Samsung staff memo leaks ahead of weak second quarter results

Samsung Electronics has sent its staff a second memo ahead of its second quarter results, amidst fears its smartphone sales failed to meet expectations during the second quarter.

According to a report in The Korea Times, analysts fear the world’s largest smartphone maker has hit a wall in terms of its smartphone growth, as Apple did in 2013.

In the leaked memo, senior executives including JK Shin order staff to be “problem solvers” and “rule breakers”, as the global smartphone market slows following years of explosive growth.

“Recently, the growth rate of Samsung’s smart TVs and smartphones is slowing down. We should make new business models in wearable devices, smart home and IoT solutions and find next cash-generators in medical equipment and business-to-business segments,” the memo states.

While the overall smartphone market continues to grow, the rate of growth has fallen to below 20%, down from 39% a year earlier, with low-end devices accounting for a growing percentage of sales.

The latest memo comes just days after the leak of another internal document, called the 2014 Sustainability Report, showing the company is set to adopt a “two-track” strategy separating its high-end and low-end product lines.