Chief Executive Officer Terry Gou of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which is better known as Foxconn, was found telling customers to disregard Samsung’s recently-released Galaxy S III smartphone and wait for the upcoming iPhone 5 instead. The whole ordeal came up during Hon Hai’s annual stockholder’s meeting where Gou mentioned a number of strategies that allow the company to “beat” Samsung within the next three to five years, according to a report from Focus Taiwan.
When referring to the iPhone 5, Gou said that “the model will put Samsung’s Galaxy III to shame,” with the main point of the message being Foxconn’s ambition to overtake Samsung in every electronic market that both companies compete in. With that being said, Gou noted a strategic alliance with Japanese electronics manufacturer, Sharp. The CEO’s goal is to mold the cutting edge technology available from Sharp with Foxconn’s production capacity to yield a product that is several years ahead of anything Samsung can create. This was seen as Foxconn became Sharp’s single largest shareholder after it purchased 10% stake in the Japanese company.
The purchase was an attempt to boost demand for products coming out of Sharp’s 10th-generation LCD plant in Sakai. This factory alone makes 60-inch and 80-inch class LCD panels and happens to have an exclusive deal with American firm Corning to use its Gorilla Glass in large format applications. Foxconn is said to begin operating the Sakai factory starting on July 1, with talks to buy more shares, although no official statement regarding the information has been made.
Based on a report from the China Times, it is Gou’s lifetime goal to defeat Samsung, a company that he claims has “a track record of snitching on its competitors.” In his statement, the CEO made a reference to the whistleblower role taken by Samsung in the European Commission’s 2010 flat-panel price fixing investigation of four Taiwanese companies. Gou even went as far as saying that he has “respect [for] the Japanese and especially like their execution and communication styles. Unlike the Koreans, they will not hit you from behind.”
Whether or not his statements have any validity or not, will be seen upon the release of the iPhone 5 in the coming future.
Source: China Times, Focus Taiwan
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