South Korean technology conglomerate Samsung is ceasing sales of all its laptops in Europe, PC Advisor reports.
The multinational company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul is exiting the laptop market in the region to "adapt to market needs and demands," according to its spokesman.
Samsung's pulling out of the European laptop market, which affects its Ativ Windows and Chromebook devices alike, is happening in the wake of the general decline of PC sales worldwide, The Verge says. In February, the Japanese electronics giant Sony sold its Vaio PC business to Japan Industrial Partners to focus on its smartphone and tablet lines.
A Samsung spokesperson said that the company quickly adapts "to market needs and demands," hence the cessation.
"In Europe, we will be discontinuing sales of laptops including Chromebooks for now. This is specific to the region -- and is not necessarily reflective of conditions in other markets," the spokesman said.
The move, nevertheless, follows Samsung's announcement of a new Ativ Book laptop at this year's Computer Electronics Show as well as the Chromebook 2 at a later event.
The Verge notes, too, that Western Europe's laptop market has been among the world's better performing ones. Additionally, market research firm Gartner found that PC sales had recently shown improvement and foresaw a huge growth in Chromebook sales.
Given these, the timing of Samsung's withdrawal may be "premature," The Verge surmises.
Samsung's statement, nevertheless, makes known the company's interest in resuming its laptop sales in the region if market indicators will prove favorable to them in the future.
"We will continue to thoroughly evaluate market conditions and will make further adjustments to maintain our competitiveness in emerging PC categories," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Samsung is facing tightening competition in the smartphone market with Apple's entry to the phablet segment with its iPhone 6 Plus, according to Digital Spy. The company's shares fell to their lowest since July 2012 after Apple sold 10 million iPhones over the weekend.
