For Samsung, 2005-06 brought in stabilization after the previous year's shake-out which saw most key people leaving. Though there was not a very significant improvement in growth during the year, stabilization has raised hopes that better growth would be registered over the next few years. As a result, the year marked an inflection point for the company. It emerged from the shadow of financial mismanagement by ex-IT-division-head Vivek Prakash (now in jail), though the legacy has been tough to shake off fully in the channels.

During the year, the value products business emerged as the focus area for the IT division. LCD monitors, Notebook PCs and multi-functions were the major growth drivers. From a 4% share of the business in terms of volume, the LCD business grew to 11% in 2005.

Samsung also went aggressive on the marketing front, as it initiated the concept of synergy marketing, which would continue through 2006-07. This involves leveraging the product categories where it already holds leadership position to drive and catalyze growth in its other product categories such as printers, HDDs and Note PCs. As part of synergy marketing, Samsung launched its 'power of three' program, which fared very well in the market. This led to the JAS quarter witness an all-time high sale for Samsung.

Samsung also set up a new B2B team to focus on the high-end products considering the strong growth momentum in the enterprise corporate market.

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