The_Wall_Street_Journal_Asia__September_13_2016

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Tuesday, September 13, 2016 |B


TECHNOLOGY @wsjd | wsjd.com


lion in annual revenue and
ranks No. 5 in unit shipments
of PC printers. Printing engines
account for 10% to 15% of the
cost of goods HP sells, he esti-
mated.
Canon is HP’s main supplier
of printing engines in its exist-
ing product line, a relationship
Mr. Lores said he expected to
continue. Beyond helping HP
enter the market for A3 ma-
chines, he said, the deal would
likely help winnow the number
of suppliers in the market.
“We see HP as a consolida-
tor in the market,” Mr. Lores
said. “We want to drive this
consolidation and make it hap-
pen.”
Besides selling laser printers
for the A3 market, HP expects
to try to diversify its products
with a proprietary technology
that evolved from inkjet print-
ers.
PageWide, which sprays ink
using a print head as wide as
the paper being used, can print
color pages much faster than
traditional inkjets, whose
printer heads move back and
forth across a page, and at a
lower cost than laser printers.

provide more utility to your
user base and enrich that ex-
perience,” he said.
Still, Mr. Erickson said the
new Apple Watch could cut
into sales of fitness-focused
devices from companies such
as Garmin Ltd. and Fitbit Inc.
Amy Nouri, a Garmin
spokeswoman, said the Apple
Watch will introduce more
consumers to the types of
products it makes. “It’s excit-
ing that Apple is coming out
with watches like this,” she
said. “It really legitimizes the
wearable space.”
“We believe there’s plenty
of room in the category given
the significant growth it is ex-
periencing,” a Fitbit spokes-
man said.
A significant part of the Ap-
ple Watch’s sporty push comes
via the Nike deal. A new ver-
sion of the watch, the Apple
Watch Nike+, comes equipped
with the latest Nike+ running
app and Nike-inspired watch
faces and bands.
Despite the prominent Nike
branding on the watch, it isn’t
clear if it will help the world’s
largest sportswear maker gain
share in the competitive fit-
ness-tracker app marketplace.
Nike has focused on devel-
oping software since abandon-
ing production of its own
wearable fitness devices, in-
cluding its short-lived Fuel-
Band, in 2014. The latest edi-

tion of its Nike+ app, released
this summer, combines ele-
ments of fitness tips and moti-
vation with a customized mar-
ketplace, aimed at increasing
direct sales of the company’s
apparel and shoes.
But Apple Watch users will
also be able to download apps
from Nike competitors, includ-
ing Under Armour Inc. and
closely held Strava Inc.
San Francisco-based Strava
offers GPS-enabled fitness
tracking largely for runners and
cyclists and counts its member-
ship in the tens of millions, ac-
cording to a spokesman.
Since 2013, Under Armour
has spent more than $700 mil-
lion to acquire a suite of fit-
ness apps and counted more
than 175 million registered us-
ers as of July. The newest Ap-
ple watches, including the
Nike-branded edition, will be
compatible with Under Ar-
mour’s UA Record and Map-
MyRun apps, according to a
spokeswoman.
In a statement, Nike said
the co-branded version of the
watch will feature its logo and
that some functions, including
directing Apple’s Siri voice
command to begin workouts,
will sync only with Nike’s run-
ning app.
“Apple and Nike both share
a passion to make life easier
and more fun for our consum-
ers,” the company said.

ing engines used in its own la-
ser printers, while HP has al-
ways used external suppliers
for these components.
Enrique Lores, president in
charge of HP’s imaging and
printing business, said acquir-
ing printer engine technology
would both bolster its profit
margins and help it shape the
evolution of its laser printers.
“You have control over the
core technology,” he said.
“That is very, very important.”
The deal includes about
6,500 of Samsung’s printing-re-
lated patents, which Mr. Lores
said would also help HP expand
its business. Around 6,
Samsung employees will join
HP, including about 1,500 engi-
neers, he said.
Samsung has been slimming
down its business portfolio un-
der the leadership of the con-
glomerate’s vice chairman and
heir apparent, Lee Jae-yong,
and increasing its focus on its
market among other technol-
ogy companies, said Lee Sei-
cheol, an analyst at NH Invest-
ment & Securities, adding that
the deal can be seen as a bid to
strengthen the South Korean

company’s better-performing
areas.
The world’s top maker of
smartphones, memory chips
and refrigerators, it ranks fifth
in the global hard-copy periph-
erals market by shipments with
a 4% market share, behind
global majors HP, Canon, Seiko
Epson Corp. and Brother Indus-
tries Ltd. Samsung’s shipments
declined by 8.9% in the second
quarter compared with a year
earlier, according to research
firm IDC.
Samsung doesn’t break out
separate sales figures for its
printer business, which falls
under the consumer electronics
division that sells televisions
and home appliances such as
refrigerators and washing ma-
chines. Last year, consumer
electronics contributed to just
4.7% of the company’s operat-
ing profit, while the higher-
profile smartphone and chip
divisions generated 38.4% and
48.4%, respectively.
Amit Daryanani, an analyst
at RBC Capital Markets, esti-
mated in a research note that
Samsung’s printer business
generates $1 billion to $1.6 bil-

HP Inc. agreed to buy Sam-
sung Electronics
Co.’s printer
business for $1.05 billion, a
deal designed to help the Sili-
con Valley company expand
into high-volume devices that
handle printing and copying
for office work groups.
The transaction, which is
subject to regulatory approval,
is expected to close within 12
months, the companies said on
Monday. Samsung also agreed
to make an equity investment
of $100 million to $300 million
in HP through open-market
stock purchases after the sale
is completed.
HP, created as part of the
breakup of Hewlett-Packard Co.
last fall, sells personal comput-
ers but gets most of its profit
from supplying ink and toner
for the printers it sells. It is the
market leader in the desktop-
class printer segment.
That business hasn’t been
growing lately, in part because
PC users print fewer pages
these days. HP last month re-
ported that revenue from ink
and toner supplies declined
18% in the third fiscal quarter
from the year-earlier period,
while printer hardware unit
sales were down 10%.
Dion Weisler, HP’s chief ex-
ecutive, has vowed to spur rev-
enue growth by moving into
larger printer-copier combina-
tions known by the designation
A3, the stronghold of such
companies as Xerox Corp.,
Canon Inc., Ricoh Co. and Kon-
ica Minolta Inc. Samsung al-
ready has a business selling A
machines, which HP will ac-
quire in the deal.
HP also will acquire the abil-
ity to manufacture the crucial
mechanisms inside laser print-
ers, known as printing engines.
Samsung developed the print-


BYDONCLARK AND
EUN-YOUNGJEONG


HP Bolsters Printing Assets


Company agrees to


pay Samsung $1.


billion for business as


it looks to take on


Xerox, Canon


HP printers on a retail shelf. A Samsung deal would help HP move into high-volume office devices.

DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS

When Apple Inc. Chief Ex-
ecutive Tim Cook introduced
the Apple Watch two years
ago, he touted its many fea-
tures, including email, a calen-
dar, the weather and phone
calls.
Mr. Cook also described the
watch’s health features. But
when Apple unveiled an up-
dated model last week, how-
ever, the focus was clearly on
sports and fitness. “We think
Apple Watch is the ultimate
device for a healthy life,” said
Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief op-
erating officer.
The evolving presentations
underscore a shift in Apple’s
marketing focus for the watch,
from a stylish jack-of-all-
trades fashion accessory to a
personal trainer.
Apple designed the new
version, called Series 2, to be
water resistant to a depth of
50 meters, thanks to a custom-
designed speaker system that
flushes out water after a
swim. Apple also touted a
partnership with Nike Inc. to
market sports-themed watches
along with GPS capability that
helps the device track hikes,
runs and bicycle rides.
Analysts estimate that Ap-
ple sold about 12 million
watches in the year following
its April 2015 launch, but the
product hasn’t proved to be a
breakout hit like the iPhone;
Apple has sold more than one
billion iPhones over the past
nine years. One rumored fea-
ture Apple didn’t add to the
watch: a cellular connection,
so the watch can handle calls
independent of an iPhone.
“They’re still missing out
on a central purpose, but
they’re inching toward a de-
vice that does fitness and
health quite well,” said J.P.
Gownder, an analyst with For-
rester Research Inc.
Apple still considers the
Watch a multipurpose digital
accessory. Pacific Crest Securi-
ties analyst Brad Erickson
agrees. “If you’re Apple, your
broader purpose is to use your
devices and your ecosystem to


BYROBERTMCMILLAN
ANDSARAGERMANO


Apple Watch Shifts Focus


Toward Sports and Fitness


Apple operating chief Jeff Williams introduced the Series 2
watch, designed to be water resistant to a depth of 50 meters.

XINHUA/ZUMA PRESS

Samsung advised users of the
Galaxy Note 7 smartphone to
turn off the device and not use
it. Several airlines have asked
passengers not to use the
phone while flying or stow
them in checked luggage.
The statement disclosing Mr.
Lee’s nomination also came on
the day Samsung said it agreed
to sell its printing business unit
to HP Inc., a deal viewed by ana-
lysts as driven by the third-gen-
eration heir’s desire to slim
down the company’s business
portfolio and strengthen its bet-
ter-performing areas.
His nomination will be put
to a shareholder vote on Oct.
27, the company said. The ad-
dition of Mr. Lee to the com-
pany’s board will allow him to
increase his involvement in
business decisions such as in-
vestments and merger-and-ac-
quisition deals, a person famil-
iar with the matter said.
Mr. Lee, 48 years old, became
vice chairman of Samsung Elec-
tronics in 2012 after stints as
chief customer officer and chief
operating officer. He is known
for keeping a low profile in def-
erence to his father. Lately, how-
ever, he has stepped up public
appearances, serving as the face
of Samsung in meetings with
Facebook Inc. Chief Executive
Mark Zuckerberg, Google parent
Alphabet Inc. CEO Larry Page
and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

SEOUL— Samsung Electron-
ics Co. nominated Lee Jae-yong,
the son of its longtime chair-
man, to its board of directors as
shares in the technology titan
suffered their steepest one-day
decline since 2008 in the wake
of a global phone recall.
The latest step in the eleva-
tion of Mr. Lee, the South Ko-
rean company’s vice chairman
and heir apparent, comes more
than two years after his father,
Chairman Lee Kun-hee, was hos-
pitalized following a heart at-
tack. He remains incapacitated.
Samsung on Monday said
the announcement wasn’t re-
lated to the crisis that has en-
gulfed the company since it
initiated a voluntary recall of
its latest smartphone, the Gal-
axy Note 7, earlier this month
because of a risk that the bat-
tery might catch fire.
Investors dumped Samsung
shares again Monday, knock-
ing a further $15.9 billion off
the company’s market value
after wiping out more than
$10 billion Friday.
Samsung shares Monday
finished down 7% at 1.465 mil-
lion won ($1,321) in Seoul, the
largest fall since October


  1. Analysts said Samsung’s
    steep decline was compounded
    by global market concern over
    a possible U.S. interest-rate in-
    crease this year as well as de-
    clines in U.S. stocks last week.
    South Korea’s main Kospi
    share index dropped 2.3%, its
    biggest one-day fall since Jan-
    uary. “It’s one thing piling on
    after another,” said Lee Sei-
    cheol, an analyst at NK Invest-
    ment & Securities.
    Since the company an-
    nounced the voluntary recall
    of more than 2.5 million
    smartphones on Sept. 2, it has
    been under pressure to act
    more decisively in response to
    increasing reports of phones
    catching fire because of faulty
    lithium-ion batteries. On Fri-
    day, the U.S. Consumer Prod-
    uct Safety Commission and


BYEUN-YOUNGJEONG

New Samsung Role


For Heir Apparent


Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong

SEONGJOON CHO/BLOOMBERG NEWS

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