(File Photo)

Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics announced on Tuesday that it will reshuffle its business by closing 7 outlets amid sluggish results in the world’s largest Smartphone market, according to the Korea Herald.

The seven sales points are located in various places throughout China.

A spokesperson for Samsung said the reshuffle is aimed at reversing declining sales and improving operational effectiveness, adding the company remains committed to China’s market. Staff in the seven outlets will be offered other positions within the company.

Samsung continues to lose ground in appliances and smartphones due to the rise of local brands, including Huawei, Vivo, OPPO, and Xiaomi, which accounted for 87% of total sales in China. Data shows Samsung’s and LG’s appliance business took up 5% of the Chinese market in total last year, and the market share of Samsung’s smartphone business fell to 3% in the second quarter of 2017.

Samsung tried to survive in China by launching its Galaxy S8 smartphone but only sold 300,000 units during the first month. Researcher in Counterpoint said Samsung’s sales would be lower next year because Chinese consumers have no interest in the S8 series.

Business insiders say the brand misunderstands Chinese consumers and more attention should be paid to marketing and innovation.

The latest research from Strategy Analytics found that Samsung smartphone still has the biggest global market share in the second quarter of the year, twice that of Apple’s. Chinese Android smartphones Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi are closing the gap.