Samsung Ends 34 Years Of TV And Appliance Sales In China

Three percent. That’s the share of TV shipments every foreign brand combined held in mainland China in 2025, with Samsung, Sony, Philips and Sharp together moving roughly one million sets across a country that buys tens of millions of televisions a year. On Wednesday, Samsung stopped pretending it could fix that math.

Samsung China Investment Corporation told staff on May 6, 2026 that it is winding down all sales of televisions and home appliances on the mainland after 34 years on the ground. Manufacturing stays. Service centers stay. The retail catalog is the piece Samsung is dropping.

The Suzhou home appliance factory keeps running. Smartphones, semiconductors and medical devices keep their full local presence. After-sales support, repair pricing and warranty service for every refrigerator, washing machine and TV already in a Chinese home stay in place under Chinese consumer protection law. Samsung is closing the storefront, not the country.

Samsung Calls Time On A 34-Year Run

The notice went to vendors and partners first, then to the Samsung China Investment Corporation workforce in a closed-door employee briefing. Korean and Chinese business outlets reported the same date and the same language: rapidly changing market conditions in China, tariff exposure, and ongoing pressure from local appliance brands.

Samsung cited “rapidly changing market conditions” in its statement, the language Korean conglomerates reserve for full retreat. The decision covers televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, monitors and the rest of the home appliance lineup that Samsung had bundled under its Chinese consumer business since 1992, according to China Daily’s reporting on Samsung’s May 6 home appliance withdrawal.

Samsung remains the world’s largest TV brand by revenue. The China sales unit had become the part of that empire where the math no longer worked.

The Profit Line That Made The Decision Easy

Last year, Samsung’s Chinese sales subsidiary booked a net profit of 168 billion won, roughly $116 million. The year before that, the same unit had cleared 300 billion won. That’s a 44% drop in twelve months on a business that was already shrinking.

The financial slide tracks the share slide. Foreign brands held a single-digit slice of Chinese TV demand long before the announcement. Cost pressure from global supply chain shocks compounded a problem Samsung’s Chinese arm had spent two years trying to solve through promotions, premium positioning and channel reshuffles.

• 168 billion won: 2025 net profit at Samsung’s Chinese sales unit, down from 300 billion won a year earlier.
• 3%: combined 2025 mainland TV shipment share for Samsung, Sony, Philips and Sharp.
• 94.1%: Chinese TV market share held by Hisense, TCL and Xiaomi in 2025, per RUNTO.
• 34 years: Samsung’s run selling TVs and white goods on the mainland, ending in 2026.

The wider context cuts harder. Samsung Electronics posted a record consolidated quarterly operating profit in the first quarter of 2026, helped by HBM memory pricing and AI server demand, according to Xinhua’s report on Samsung’s Q1 2026 operating profit. The chip and AI side of the company is printing money. The Chinese living-room side wasn’t, and there was no realistic path back.

Hisense, TCL And Xiaomi Run The Living Room Now

Hisense and TCL have moved past Samsung and LG by global TV unit shipments for the first time, the result of years of investment in panel sourcing, large-format manufacturing and aggressive pricing in tiers Samsung had ceded. The two Chinese brands hit cheaper price tiers without surrendering on Mini-LED, QD-OLED competitive panels, or 100-inch plus screens, the segments Samsung used to own outright.

Xiaomi added the smart-home angle, bundling TVs into a phone-plus-home setup at price points Samsung’s Chinese SKUs couldn’t match. TCL and Hisense now “threaten Samsung’s leadership” in the premium segment, according to Counterpoint Research’s Q1 2025 advanced TV market analysis, which flagged share gains in Mini-LED and 8K.

Beyond TVs, the appliance picture is even tougher. Domestic players Midea, Haier and Gree together held more than 62% of China’s 893.1 billion yuan home appliance retail market in 2025, leaving foreign challengers fighting over scraps that local brands had already deeply discounted, per Mordor Intelligence’s China major home appliances market analysis.

The Suzhou Plant Isn’t Going Anywhere

This is the line most coverage glossed past. Samsung’s Suzhou home appliance factory continues to run after the sales withdrawal, and so do its semiconductor plants in Xi’an and Suzhou, where it makes a meaningful chunk of the world’s NAND flash supply.

The factories produce for export and for Samsung’s global supply chain. Cutting Chinese sales doesn’t change what comes off those production lines. Samsung is not unwinding 34 years of industrial footprint. It is unwinding a sales channel that was no longer paying for itself.

Where Samsung Is Still Spending In China

Three businesses keep their Chinese marketing budgets in 2026: smartphones, semiconductors and medical equipment.

The phone push centers on the W Series, Samsung’s ultra-premium line built specifically for Chinese consumers, plus Galaxy AI features localized for Mandarin and integrated with Chinese cloud partners. Samsung’s overall Chinese smartphone share remains in the low single digits, but the W Series carries margins the volume brands can’t touch.

On the chip side, the Xi’an NAND fabs continue to feed both Chinese OEMs and Samsung’s own products, and Samsung’s Chinese sales of memory rose meaningfully through the 2024 to 2025 stretch on the back of Beijing’s “old-for-new” appliance trade-in policy, according to TrendForce’s analysis of Samsung and SK Hynix 2024 China sales. Medical imaging and ultrasound equipment, a smaller but technically defensible business, also stays.

What Existing Samsung Owners In China Get

Anyone with a Samsung TV, refrigerator, washer or air conditioner already installed in a Chinese home will keep getting service. Samsung confirmed that authorized service centers will continue operations, and warranty terms remain unchanged.

Repair pricing also stays at the previously published rates. Spare parts inventory continues under Chinese consumer protection rules, which require manufacturers to maintain parts availability for several years after a product line is discontinued. Installation services for any pending units in retail channels will be honored.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will My Samsung TV Still Get Software Updates In China?

Yes. Samsung confirmed that after-sales obligations continue under Chinese consumer protection law, and that includes firmware support tied to device functionality. Smart TV apps and Samsung’s Chinese content partner integrations will keep operating on existing models. Owners worried about feature updates should keep their Samsung Account active and check for OTA updates through the device’s settings menu rather than waiting for retail prompts.

Can I Still Buy A Samsung Refrigerator In China Today?

Stock that’s already in vendor warehouses will sell through, but no new shipments are coming. Samsung notified its Chinese partners of the wind-down on May 6, 2026, and existing inventory at JD.com, Tmall and offline appliance retailers will move at clearance pacing over the coming weeks. After that, you’ll need to import a Samsung unit through a third-party reseller or pick a local alternative.

Where Do I Get Repair Service Now?

Use Samsung’s existing Chinese service hotline and the authorized service center network, both of which remain active. Walk-ins, pickup-and-return repairs and at-home service appointments are all continuing under the same contracts. If your unit is still under the original manufacturer warranty, present the original purchase receipt or the device’s registered serial number, and repairs will follow the warranty terms in force at the time of sale.

Is Samsung Leaving China Entirely?

No. Samsung kept its smartphone business, the Suzhou home appliance factory, the Xi’an and Suzhou semiconductor plants, and the medical equipment unit operating in China. The withdrawal is limited to consumer sales of televisions and home appliances. The bulk of Samsung’s mainland workforce remains intact across manufacturing and corporate functions, with the staffing reduction concentrated inside the consumer sales subsidiary.

Will Galaxy Phones Stay Available In China?

Yes. Samsung is doubling its premium-phone marketing in China, particularly for the W Series and Galaxy AI features. The W Series remains a China-exclusive ultra-premium line carrying a price tag well above the standard Galaxy S flagship. Galaxy AI features have been localized for Mandarin and routed through Chinese cloud partners, and Samsung’s mobile retail presence in tier-one cities continues without changes.

Samsung’s wider playbook is now visible. The company keeps the parts of China where it has technological leverage on the chip and premium-phone side, and walks away from the parts where it doesn’t. Chips, premium phones and medical hardware in. White goods and TVs out.

That trade hurts to admit publicly. It probably saves money quietly.