By Zhao Likun, GM Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) South Africa.
The smartphone manufacturers that survive in the future will be the ones with technological strength, are adaptive to changes and responsive to user demands. Huawei has a visionary game plan for its smartphones to rise up to this challenge.
In 2015, the company first came up with the concept of Intelligent Phones and has been developing meaningful innovations in technology and design since.
The company’s collaboration with Leica has resulted in the dual-camera capacity of its flagship phones which is a now a benchmark for photography products.
Huawei has also made breakthroughs in the operating system with EMUI 5.0 OS that got rid of the deteriorating performance issue causing Android phones to slow down over time, which frustrated Android users for years.
Appealing to the fashionistas, Huawei partnered with the Pantone Institute to develop two special colour options for its flagship P-series range: the P10 and P10 Plus are available in Greenery, the Pantone colour for 2017, and Dazzling Blue.
Huawei has a consumer-centric approach that focuses on creating meaningful innovation.
Huawei CBG will continue to put consumer needs first and enhance its consumer-facing capabilities in the channel, retail, brand, marketing, and services.
This consumer-centric approach seems to be paying off. Huawei P9 and P9 Plus global shipments exceeded 10 million units, making them the first Huawei flagship handsets to break 10 million sales.
Huawei’s global smartphone shipments reached 139 million units in 2016, amounting to 29% year-on-year growth. Q1 2017, has seen 34.55 million global smartphone shipments, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%.
According to IDC, Huawei’s global smartphone market share further increased to 9.8%, consolidating its position in the top three smartphone vendors in the world.
Despite tough market conditions, Huawei CBG is still growing at an industry-leading pace. This can be attributed to our ongoing commitment to building a premium brand and reinforcing our global channels and service capabilities.
This success is being seen in South Africa too. Huawei SA has achieved 92% local brand awareness and has recorded an improvement in the sales of its flagship P-series devices. The first month of sales of the P10 and P10 Plus have seen a 68% increase as compared to the same period last year with the P9.
Huawei remains in the third position in terms of market share in South Africa.
The Effective Measure South Africa Mobile Report 2017 indicates that Samsung remains the dominant mobile phone brand in South Africa with 40% market share, Apple is second with 10%, followed by Huawei on 9%.
However, the company aims to grow its local market share to reach second place, by becoming the preferred brand of the flagship, premium sector products. The excellence of the P10 is helping the company to gain market share.
We are encouraged by the increasing consumer confidence in the Huawei brand and premium product segment.
Huawei is well-positioned to continue its presence in the smartphone, as well as the wearable, smart home and cloud markets, with the aim of becoming end-to-end solutions and platform service provider, offering consumers a more convenient and intelligent way to connect their lives.
We will continue building on our core competencies to lead the future and become a popular cultural and technical brand for consumers.
