Samsung Electronics Taiwan Co (台灣三星) yesterday teamed up with Merida Industry Co (美利達), the nation’s No. 2 bicycle maker, to sell its Gear S smartwatch in six of Merida’s domestic flagship stores.
The Gear S was designed for hikers, joggers and cyclists who do not find it convenient to carry smartphones while doing these activities, and the watch is also a fitness tracker, Samsung Electronics Taiwan’s mobile communication team general manager Andy Tu (杜偉昱) said in a news conference.
The tie-up with Merida marks the first time that Samsung Electronics Taiwan will sell its smartwatch outside telecom retail stores, letting the local unit reach a new group of customers, Tu said.
Photo: Liang Wei-ming, Taipei Times
Taiwan has about 2 million regular cyclists and an all-in-one smartwatch like the Gear S, which offers a wide range of data including direction, altitude and weather forecasts, is in high demand, Merida said.
Samsung Electronics Taiwan said it aims to sell smartwatch via other athletics and sports retailers in the future.
Tu said sales of the Gear S — which was launched locally last month at NT$10,990 (US$353) each — were higher than its those of its previous versions and retailers are asking for more.
The company launched its Gear 2 in April this year and the Galaxy Gear in October last year.
Global smartwatch shipments reached 1 million units in the second quarter this year, and South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co led the market with a 73.6 percent market share, Tu said, citing the latest data compiled by Strategy Analytics.
Tu said he was confident that Samsung’s market share in the global smartwatch market would remain high for the third quarter, without offering exact figures.
However, market watchers have said that Samsung might face increasing competition in the market following the introduction of other Android Wear smartwatches.
Dragon Lin (林君龍), general manager of Ostarts Enterprise Co (歐盛達國際), which operates Merida’s six flagship stores, said the Gear S is the first smartwatch the company has agreed to carry.
Lin said a Merida flagship store typically posts an average monthly revenue of NT$2 million, with 30 percent coming from the sales of cycling accessories.
Merida has about 100 retail outlets in Taiwan, including eight flagship stores of 100 ping (330.58m2), 20 exhibition centers between 50 ping and 100 ping, and about 70 smaller shops, Merida senior vice president William Jeng (鄭文祥) said.
Jeng added that the average local selling price of Merida’s bicycles is between NT$25,000 and NT$30,000, while shipments of its NT$10,000 entry-level bicycles are the highest.
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