Adam Minter, Columnist

Samsung's Future Runs Through Indonesia

China's labor costs are starting to get too pricey.

May 20, 2015 at 10:00 PM UTC

Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of sports. He is the author, most recently, of “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."

Cheaper than China.
Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Getty Images

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Samsung, the world's biggest manufacturer of smartphones, has a growing problem in the world's biggest smartphone market. The company has seen a 53 percent decline in units shipped to China so far this year compared to the same period a year ago. After a long reign as China's most popular phone producer, it has now slipped to fourth.

There's plenty Samsung can do to try to stage a reversal in China, from developing new products to improving its marketing. But it may have identified a shortcut for a turnaround -- one that runs through Indonesia.