14 DAY TRIAL // With the measures that it has taken in the past few days, Samsung has basically laid the ground for a second recall of the Galaxy Note 7. Sales and exchanges of the smartphone have been stopped at all carriers and third-party retailers, consumers are asked to power down devices and seek a full refund, and the South Korean company is even offering loan devices in some countries.
It sounds all too familiar, as the same measures were taken last month after Samsung and the CPSC officially announced the initial recall of the Galaxy Note 7. But this time around, Samsung avoids mentioning the word recall, and for good reasons.
Some analysts have stated for Reuters that Samsung might scrap the Galaxy Note 7 and move on to successor models, so that it can limit the effect on its financial situation and reputation. But until the CPSC announces the results of its investigation, the South Korean company won’t announce the second recall, as to not damage its reputation even further.
"This has probably killed the Note 7 brand name"
The worst case scenario for Samsung would be for the CPSC to conclude that the product is fundamentally flawed and ban all sales of the device, the report mentions.
Edward Snyder, the managing director of Charter Equity Research said for Reuters that the recent situation with the Note 7 has probably killed the brand name. He added that "By the time they fix the problem they have to go through recertification and requalification and by the time that happens, they're going up against the (Galaxy) S8 launch."
Production for the Galaxy Note 7 has already been halted in South Korea, while China’s quality watchdog said Samsung could recall all 190,984 Note 7 smartphones sold in the country.
Mobile carrier Verizon, which is the largest in the US, has also stated that it may shift marketing away from the Note 7, as the holidays are approaching. Indeed, consumers will be tempted to shift towards the new Google Pixel phones or the latest iPhone, seeing how they’re in the same price range.