On Thursday, March 14, the Galaxy S4, announced its arrival to the world, but forecasts of the smartphone's sales figures in the first month had already begun.
According to a Reuters report, analysts are of the opinion that the Korean company will generate sales of at least 10 million Galaxy S4 units in the first month of its release alone.
"Some analysts predict the new Galaxy S IV could top 10 million unit sales in the first month after its launch, so any hiccups in the smooth delivery of core components could be disastrous," reports Reuters.
If the forecast bears fruition, then the Galaxy S4 would herald a new era for Samsung. In 2012, the Galaxy S3, which released on May 29, managed to notch up the 10 million unit sales milestone in two months of release before the launch of the 64GB variant, and sold 6.5 million units in the first month. The smartphone breezed past the 20 million landmark in September and took another two months before surpassing the 30 million landmark in early November 2012.
Samsung fans will also be hoping that the smartphone market leader does not face any supply shortage issues with the Galaxy S4 as it did with its predecessor. Hopefully, Samsung has not underestimated demand for the smartphone this time around and is prepared to tackle any inventory issues.
"There could be, again, a supply bottleneck due to tight supply of components ... but I think any such disruption will be very brief, as Samsung is making a bigger bet on the S IV than on its predecessor with a backup plan to avoid such disruption," Greg Noh, an analyst at HMC Investment and Securities, told Reuters.
According to IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo, Samsung is mindful of the issue and has taken appropriate measures to ensure constant supply.
"Based on checks we had with suppliers, Samsung has already done significant work to ensure smooth supply and not to repeat what they had to deal with last time," averred Lee Seun-woo to Reuters.
With supply issues supposedly sorted out, Samsung is gearing up to pull the rug from under rivals' feet once again. Perhaps, HTC would have done well to take a leaf out the smartphone market leader's books and avoided delays for the HTC One's release.
