Samsung Electronics has stopped selling televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and monitors on the Chinese mainland, ending a 34-year retail presence in the world's largest consumer electronics market after losing ground to domestic competitors on price, distribution and brand loyalty.
The decision, announced on Samsung's official Chinese website, takes effect immediately and covers all home appliance categories.
The company said it had acted "after careful consideration" in response to a rapidly changing market environment, a diplomatic way of describing a business that had become all but unviable.
The numbers tell the story plainly.
According to Beijing Runto Technology, a Chinese market research firm, domestic brands including Hisense, TCL and Xiaomi shipped 31 million of the 32.9 million televisions sold in China last year, taking 94.1% of the market.
Samsung, Sony, Philips and Sharp combined accounted for roughly 1 million units, or just 3%.
In offline retail, Samsung's position was even weaker: data from All View Cloud showed the company held 3.62% of the colour television market in the January to early April period, 0.41% of refrigerators and 0.38% of washing machines, ranking fifth, fourteenth and fifteenth respectively.
Samsung's visual display and digital appliance divisions reported combined losses of approximately 200 billion won ($138 million) in 2025, hit by both Chinese competition and the impact of US tariffs.
Samsung China's net profit fell 44% year on year to 168.1 billion won.
The retreat accelerated a decline that began in earnest in 2017, when the deployment of a US anti-missile system in South Korea triggered a consumer boycott of Korean goods in China, and domestic brands seized the opening.
Samsung closed its Tianjin television factory in 2020 and has been gradually scaling back ever since.
The company will maintain its Suzhou home appliance factory for export production and continue operating semiconductor plants in Xi'an and Suzhou, along with local research and development operations.
On the consumer side, Samsung said it would keep selling smartphones in China, with a particular focus on the luxury W Series foldable range and Galaxy AI features designed for the local market.
After-sales support for existing appliance owners will continue under Chinese consumer protection law.
Samsung described the move as part of a "selection and concentration" strategy, redirecting resources towards businesses where it retains a technological advantage: memory chips, where demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure is driving a profit surge, and premium mobile devices.
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The exit is a stark illustration of how comprehensively Chinese manufacturers have displaced foreign brands in their home market, not only in budget categories but increasingly at the high end, where companies such as TCL and Hisense are now competing directly with Samsung and Sony on picture quality, panel technology and smart television features.
Samsung remains the world's largest television brand by global shipments, a position it has held for 20 consecutive years, but in China that distinction no longer translates into meaningful sales.
The recap
- Samsung stops selling home appliances in China's mainland market
- Samsung China net profit fell 44% to 168.1 billion won
- Company will focus on mobile phones, semiconductors, medical equipment
