China 'unaffected' by washer recall

Potential buyers look over the Samsung Electronics 9000 Series washer and dryer during the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's local unit said on Monday the Chinese market won't be affected by its recall of millions of washing machines in the United States following several reports of injuries due to "excessive vibration".

Samsung China said none of the recalled models was sold in the Chinese market, adding the regions except the North America market won't be impacted by the recall.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported on Friday Samsung was recalling 34 models of top-load washing machines manufactured between March 2011 and this year. The number of affected machines reached 2.8 million.

In the current recall, consumers could choose between a free repair and a rebate toward the purchase of a new washing machine from Samsung or other brands. Consumers who bought an affected model in the past 30 days could get a full refund.

The US safety commission cited 733 reports of Samsung machines that experienced excessive vibration and nine injuries, including a broken jaw and an injured shoulder.

Zhou Qun, managing director for China with research company GfK, said: "Samsung's home appliance products only account for a small market share in Chinese market, compared with Siemens AG and Panasonic Corp. If it recalls, this would have no impact."

Chen Wei, a professor at the China Europe International Business School, said the successive recalls would not have a serious impact on Samsung in the long term, however, its sales will be affected within at least the next one to two years.