Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-largest handset maker, swept the Russian mobile phone market, ranking first in four categories in November last year, a research firm said Monday.

Samsung Electronics took first place in the Russian mobile phone market in terms of units sold and their value in November, while its smartphones were named best products for both sales volume and revenue, according to global market researcher GfK Group.

It was the first time that the Samsung Electronics topped the four lists at the same time since it entered the Russian market in 1999.

By sales volume, Samsung Electronics’ mobile phones accounted for 42 percent of the Russian handset market in November, followed by Nokia Corp. with a 35 percent share, the researcher said. In the country’s smartphone market, the South Korean tech giant had a 41 percent market share, outpacing the Finnish firm by 10 percentage points.

Samsung Electronics said it has made efforts to get closer to Russian consumers by opening a store in Moscow’s busiest shopping district and rolling out its flagship Galaxy series models including the Galaxy Note.

The Wave phone, powered by Samsung Electronics’ own operating system Bada, is believed to have steered the firm to the top spot in the Russian smartphone market, selling three times more than Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

Samsung Electronics posted a record operating profit and sales estimate for the fourth quarter of last year, with 5.2 trillion won ($4.51 billion) in operating profit and 47 trillion won in sales. 

(Yonhap News)