Distributors are showing varied attitudes: some have quietly lowered prices to clear out inventory, while others have already begun vacating Samsung display areas to make way for domestic brands.
On the afternoon of May 12, foot traffic at Beijing's Shuangjing JD MALL was sparse on a weekday. From the first to the third floor, Samsung maintained a complete store layout, with mobile phones, televisions, and refrigerators and washing machines each occupying prominent display areas. Large screens looped promotional videos, though some demo units remained dark. Refrigerators and washing machines were neatly arranged, maintaining the clean presentation typical of foreign brands.
In January of this year, Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong spent about an hour here, reviewing product market feedback and displays. This visit was seen as a deep dive by the Korean business community into China's consumer market and tech retail landscape. However, the atmosphere in the stores now differs from just a few months ago.
"If you don't buy now, you might not be able to get it later," a Samsung TV salesperson told a reporter, pointing to a Frame TV on the wall—a popular model often inquired about by customers, with some popular sizes already out of stock. "Right now, we're basically selling whatever is left in inventory." As for the specific timeline for withdrawal, they are still awaiting final instructions from the company.
A week ago, Samsung China officially announced it would cease sales of all home appliance products in the Chinese mainland market, including televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and monitors. This means the company, long seen as a symbol of high-end foreign consumer electronics, will exit China's home appliance retail market.
Recent visits by reporters to Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai found Samsung appliances still being sold normally. Distributors' mindsets vary: some have quietly reduced prices to speed up inventory clearance; some still doubt Samsung will actually leave, offering limited discounts and continuing to accept orders; while others have already started clearing Samsung display spaces to welcome domestic brands.
**Withdrawal Not Yet Fully Underway**
On the evening of May 12, a reporter visited Samsung's flagship experience store on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street in Shanghai. The first floor featured mobile phone displays, while the second floor had various televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, and other products for sale. No notices about the sales halt were posted inside or outside the store.
Similar to the situation at the Samsung store in Beijing's Shuangjing JD MALL, inventory clearance is also underway here. Staff mentioned that prices for some models are more favorable compared to online channels, and inquiries have increased recently, mainly focusing on "parts supply" and "after-sales support."
Guangzhou's Haiyin Appliance Market, the first specialized appliance market in China, still retains the bustling atmosphere of a traditional appliance distribution hub. During a recent visit, multiple Samsung stores along the street displayed prominent "SAMSUNG" logos, with demo videos playing on TV screens. Staff attended to customers while organizing stock, and there were even buyers from Africa making purchases.
A retailer who has been selling Samsung appliances for nearly twenty years told reporters that Samsung TV prices have hardly dropped, supported by the brand's record of being the global TV sales leader for 20 consecutive years. Even if Samsung TV prices fall, a 5% reduction is likely the maximum.
To this day, this retailer finds it hard to believe Samsung will completely exit China's home appliance market. He believes Samsung is deeply tied to the Chinese market, as China is one of the world's largest TV markets. Samsung has appliance production factories in China and has trained a large number of sales personnel over the past two decades. "Currently, distributors aren't reporting shortages. Samsung TV models for 2024 and 2025 are still being supplied normally, with new models typically released each September or October." Besides televisions, Samsung refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners are also still being sold in China.
He stated that Samsung has not communicated about exiting the Chinese home appliance market. As one of the main Samsung appliance distributors in Haiyin Appliance Market, this retailer operates multiple stores, selling tens of thousands of Samsung TVs annually, all sourced independently.
During the conversation, an African customer entered the store to inquire about Samsung TV prices. The retailer noted that about 80% of their customers at Haiyin Appliance Market are overseas buyers from Africa and other regions, as prices in Africa are roughly four to five times higher than in China.
"Selling Samsung TVs has always been profitable, with high margins. However, joint venture brands have been shrinking in recent years. Sony's TV business is about to be controlled by TCL. Domestic brand TVs are cheaper." The retailer added that even if Samsung TVs exit the Chinese market, products will still be covered by warranty. And if Samsung stops supplying TVs in the future, they will sell other foreign brands like LG and Sony, as well as domestic brands.
Additionally, reporters checked Samsung's online sales channels. As of the time of writing, Samsung's flagship stores on Tmall and JD.com are still operating normally, though some TV and refrigerator models show insufficient stock. Tmall customer service responded that existing products in the store can be ordered normally, with nationwide warranty coverage. Installation and after-sales services follow official standards, so customers need not worry about service issues. Reporters attempted to place an order for a refrigerator model, and the system showed normal payment and delivery scheduling.
**Some Distributors Rush to Clear Stock and Vacate Spaces**
Not everyone is willing to wait. More distributors have begun proactively clearing inventory. Reporters learned that in offline channels, some distributors have slightly reduced Samsung appliance prices to speed up sales, while others have even started vacating Samsung display spaces for other brands.
At Haiyin Appliance Market, some distributors have begun discounting Samsung TV products. Others have placed domestic brand TVs side by side with Samsung TVs for comparison. A Samsung 98-inch LCD TV was priced at 16,000 yuan, while a nearby Hisense 100-inch LCD TV was priced at 9,600 yuan. The distributor straightforwardly stated, "The specs are similar."
There is no exclusive business here. "Sony TVs are more expensive than Samsung TVs, and domestic brand TVs are cheaper than Samsung TVs," another distributor noted, suggesting that if a customer is interested in a 98-inch Samsung QLED TV priced at 16,800 yuan, they should buy it now, as prices fluctuate with the market, and the manufacturer handles warranties. At that moment, an African buyer entered the store to inquire about Hisense TV prices.
Not only at Haiyin Appliance Market, but distributors nationwide are also clearing inventory. During visits to multiple JD MALL and Suning stores in Beijing and Guangzhou, Samsung appliance sales personnel shared similar information: Samsung TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and garment care machines are still available for sale, with prices discounted from the listed amounts. The focus is currently on clearing inventory, and the timeline for withdrawal is still pending headquarters' notification.
A retailer in eastern China told reporters that several of their stores are still selling Samsung TVs, first clearing inventory, then demo units, after which Samsung display areas will be replaced with other brands. During the clearance process, prices are about 5%–10% lower than before. Samsung's sales personnel will be reassigned by the company.
A distributor of Samsung residential and commercial air conditioners in northwest China said that after seeing the news, they contacted the company. A sales representative revealed that many employees in their division had resigned a month earlier. They still have hundreds of thousands of yuan worth of Samsung air conditioners in stock, originally agreed to be paid for only after sales. Now, they plan to stop selling and return the inventory. "We have already started vacating Samsung's space for other brands, and our top sales staff are being reassigned to other brands."
**Behind Samsung's Declining Market Share**
While distributors' attitudes vary, the data has already shown a decline.
In the week Samsung announced its exit from the Chinese home appliance market, data from AVC showed that from May 4 to May 10, Samsung's market share in China's TV offline channels was 2.94%, a year-on-year decrease of 2.85 percentage points.
Regarding monitor sales, Chen Hui, General Manager of AVC Revo, told reporters that Samsung's monitor sales business in China will gradually wind down. After franchise stores sell out their existing inventory, cooperation is expected to cease. Company-owned stores will likely terminate cooperation after fulfilling previously agreed sales commitments.
Over the past decade, Samsung's appliance sales in China have significantly shrunk, partly due to a contraction in the overall market size, but more importantly due to the rise of domestic brands, especially changes in the TV ecosystem, which have rapidly increased market share and squeezed out foreign brands like Samsung.
Third-party data shows that Samsung's TV shipments in the Chinese market reached 2.55 million units in 2014. However, by 2025, Samsung's annual TV shipments in China had fallen to less than 500,000 units—less than one-fifth of the peak—posing severe challenges to operations and profitability. In the first quarter of 2026, the total shipments of Samsung and other foreign brands in China's TV market were around 200,000 units, a double-digit year-on-year decline, with a combined market share of less than 3%.
Zhang Bing, a consumer electronics analyst at Omdia, analyzed that following Toshiba's TV brand licensing to Hisense and TCL's joint venture agreement with Sony for TV and related businesses, Samsung's announcement to exit the Chinese home appliance market marks another shift. Against the backdrop of sluggish TV demand in China and the rise of leading domestic brands, Japanese and Korean brands with annual TV shipments around 200,000 units in China are essentially in the third tier, facing a survival crisis.
He predicts that this crisis will gradually spread to emerging markets in the coming years. Leading Chinese brands are likely to continue gaining market share in these regions but will also face the challenge of establishing high-value products and services, particularly in smart TV operations and AI applications on TVs. Only by addressing these gaps can leading Chinese brands gain sustained competitiveness in TVs and other consumer electronics.
A Samsung company store employee lamented to reporters that the domestic TV market is overly competitive, and high-end TVs have not been selling well in recent years. He hinted at a possibility: Samsung's statement may only mean it will no longer directly engage in home appliance sales in the Chinese market, but products might still circulate through agents and distributors in the future.
During interviews, an employee with over ten years of experience at Samsung expressed a sentiment that Samsung might be waiting for an opportunity to "return" when the market improves in the future.
However, the business world is harsh. Once the "capillaries" of the retail end—those display spaces being vacated and sales staff being reassigned—are lost, rebuilding the brand's presence would come at an unimaginable cost.
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