Samsung’s Z Flip sells out in 9 minutes in China despite slow market

Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z Flip sold out in nine minutes in China on Thursday, despite dampened consumer sentiment worldwide due to the coronavirus outbreak.

According to the Chinese electronics industry on Friday, Samsung began online sales of the Z Flip across China at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, and the clamshell-type foldable phone sold out in less than 10 minutes. Delivery will begin immediately.

On the same day, Samsung began to take preorders for the Z Flip’s limited Thom Browne edition, which hit maximum capacity in three minutes. The Thom Browne edition will be delivered in mid-March.

As per custom, Samsung did not disclose the exact number of devices sold in China so far.

The company introduced its flagship Galaxy S20 series via an online presentation on Thursday night, saying the S20 will go on sale in China from March.

Industry watchers are paying attention to whether Samsung’s conventional lineup will fare as well as its foldable phones, as S20 sales in Korea had been downbeat on its first day of sales here Thursday.

Samsung sold an estimated 70,800 units of the S20 in Korea on Thursday, compared with 140,000 units of the S10 series sold on its first day of sales. The corresponding figure for the Galaxy Note 10 smartphones was 220,000 units.

A Korean telecom company official reportedly said S20 sales were negatively affected by the reduced number of consumers visiting offline stores due to coronavirus fears.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)