Tag Archives: Vivo

SMARTPHONES: Huawei Takes New Look at India

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Bottom line: Huawei’s new push into India looks like a smart and well-timed move to take advantage of the country’s emerging middle class, and could help it take the global smartphone crown by the end of next year.

Huawei takes aim at India

As it creeps up on its goal of becoming the world’s largest smartphone maker, the controversial Huawei appears to finally be waking up to the potential of the fast-growing India market. That’s the key takeaway from some Indian media reports last week, which quoted a company executive saying Huawei is planning a major push into an India market that it has largely ignored up until now.

The bigger theme in this particular story is that India is quickly emerging as a market not to be taken lightly on the smartphone scene. Global leader Samsung (Seoul: 005930) learned that early on, and until recently was the market leader before getting eclipsed by China’s Xiaomi (HKEx: 1810). I was quite surprised when doing some quick research for this post to learn that India actually passed the US to become the world’s second largest smartphone market in the third quarter, behind only China. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Smartisan Gets New Funding, But From Where?

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Bottom line: Smartisan’s new funding and plans to produce 5-6 smartphones a year look like an anomaly in the highly competitive market, and it’s unlikely to survive as a standalone entity over the next 5 years.

Smartisan gets new funding

I was a bit surprised to read that a clear second-tier smartphone player, the uppity Smartisan, has received 100 million yuan ($147 million) in new funding, as we begin the latest week of summer. I haven’t seen this company’s name or many second-tier players like OnePlus in more than half a year, though their collective names have come up quite a bit in the bigger smartphone numbers.

That’s a reference to the “other” category in the quarterly smartphone figures put out by data tracking firms like IDC, which show that this collective group that includes all names lumped together after the top 5 is rapidly losing share. In IDC’s latest China market data that came out last week, the top 5 vendors, Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), collectively controlled 73 percent of the market. “Others”, including the likes of Smartisan, had to divvy up the remaining 26.9 percent. But what was most notably was that 26.9 percent marked a sharp decline from last year, when this group controlled 36.2 percent. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Xiaomi Comeback Marches On, But Will It Last?

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Bottom line: Xiaomi’s rising market share and securing of $1 billion in new financing underscore its nascent turnaround may have some legs, even as its position remains tenuous in the cutthroat market.

Xiaomi unveils latest phone

Former smartphone sensation Xiaomi is in several headlines as we head into the close of the week, all of which seem to underscore that its nascent rebound may have some legs. But as anyone in the industry will tell you, any smartphone maker is really only as good as its last model these days, meaning fortunes can quickly turn with just one misstep. The smartphone sphere is littered with such examples of such missteps that ultimately led to corporate downfalls, including Samsung (Seoul: 005930), as well as former giants Nokia (Helsinki: NOK1V) and Motorola.

That said, Xiaomi is a slightly different case from that trio, since its initial rise to fame was really almost exclusively based on hype and savvy marketing rather than any cutting-edge product. The company is trying to correct that problem now by improving its product lineup, including the unveiling of its latest phone and upgrades to its own operating system. At the same time, media are reporting the company has received a new $1 billion loan, meaning banks still have some confidence in the firm, even if investors are skeptical. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Oppo Lands in India Protest Storm

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Bottom line: A mass protest against Oppo in India over a Chinese manager’s desecration of the national flag won’t impact the company beyond a week or two, and reflects cultural sensitivity issues Chinese firms will face as they expand abroad.

Oppo under fire in India

Smartphone high-flyer Oppo is quickly learning the road to India isn’t always so smooth, with word of a mass protest at the company’s local operation due to a controversy involving desecration of the Indian flag. In this case the company appears to be learning a fast lesson in cultural sensitivity, which underscores one of the more subtle lessons that Chinese firms will need to learn as they expand abroad.

I doubt this particular incident will have any long-lasting impact on Oppo, though it will be interesting to see if it might affect its recent major cricket sponsorship deal in India. (previous post) The incident could also make Oppo think twice about its other big plans for the market, namely the building of a major production base there.  Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Oppo Shows India Resolve with Cricket Deal

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Bottom line: Oppo’s major new cricket sponsorship deal shows its commitment to India, but may have to be renegotiated if and when the company’s fortunes decline in the next 1-2 years following its meteoric rise.

Oppo in India cricket deal

Smartphone high-flyer Oppo is trying to show the world it’s serious about India, with word it will pay 1.1 billion yuan ($160 million) for rights to sponsor the nation’s national cricket team. News of the deal comes just three months after China’s top smartphone brand announced plans to build a production facility in the hotly contested India market, which has become a magnet for Chinese brands over the last year.

All that raises the question of whether Oppo is for real, or just another passing fad in China’s constantly changing smartphone landscape. That landscape has seen players like Lenovo (HKEx: 992), Xiaomi and Huawei become dominant players in the world’s largest smartphone market one day, only to rapidly fade the next. It’s obviously still too early to say if Oppo will follow in that trajectory, though my educated guess would be the answer to that question is quite possibly “yes”. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Xiaomi, Vivo Skip Barcelona Telecoms Bash

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UPDATE: After publishing this earlier this morning, a source in Barcelona informs me that Oppo is indeed attending and is holding a press event to show off their newest products. Headline and photo caption changed to reflect Oppo’s attendance, but the rest of the original post remains the same.

Bottom line: The absence of Oppo and Vivo from the world’s top telecoms trade show in Spain this week reflects their overwhelming reliance on China sales, while Xiaomi’s absence from the show could be a cash conservation move.

Vivo, Xiaomi absent from top telecoms trade show

Most eyes from the telecoms world will be focused on Barcelona this week, where an annual show that’s arguably the world’s most important for smartphones is taking place. That seems like a good opportunity to look at who from China’s crowded smartphone arena is attending this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Spain, even though I’m personally not at the show.

Attending the event is by no means cheap, which is probably why some companies may choose the skip the affair. But the decision to attend or not does provide some insight as to what companies are thinking, since you would expect anyone with truly global aspirations to make an appearance at this showcase for the newest telecoms products. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Lenovo Starts Rebuilding Year with Samsung Poach

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Bottom line: Lenovo could reverse its smartphone decline this year under a new leadership team anchored by a respected company veteran, though chances of success are relatively low due to stiff competition and magnitude of the task.

Lenovo nets former Samsung smartphone exec

My first post in the new lunar Year of the Rooster seems like a good time to look at the ultra-competitive smartphone market, and what may lie ahead for the embattled Lenovo (HKEx: 992) as it seeks to regain its footing in the space. CEO Yang Yuanqing has made repeated overhauls of his mobile devices division, including the naming of longtime executive Gina Qiao to try and turn the division around late last yaer. Now the latest reports are saying that Qiao has made one of her first big moves in that post by hiring an executive from rival producer Samsung (Seoul: 005930). Read Full Post…

China News Digest: October 26, 2016

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The following press releases and news reports about China companies were carried on October 26. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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  • Germany Withdraws Approval for Chinese Takeover of Aixtron (Frankfurt: AIXA) (English article)
  • Oppo, Vivo Pass Huawei in China Smartphone Market in Q3 – Counterpoint (Chinese article)
  • ChemChina Ready for Concessions to Clinch Delayed Syngenta Deal: Source (English article)
  • New Oriental (NYSE: EDU) Announces Results for the First Fiscal Quarter (PRNewswire)
  • Student Loan Specialist Qufenqi Posts 540 Mln Yuan Loss in 2015 (Chinese article)
  • Latest calendar for Q2 earnings reports (Earnings calendar)

SMARTPHONES: Huawei Slips in Q3, Meizu Gets New Investors

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Huawei slips in Q3

The first third-quarter smartphone sales data are out, revealing that Huawei retained its leading position in the fiercely competitive Chinese market. But the high flying Huawei also saw its share drop by more than one percentage point, indicating its momentum may be slowing. At the same time, other reports are saying that Meizu, the Alibaba-backed (NYSE: BABA) smartphone brand that isn’t in the China top 5, has signed on a small group of new investors in a deal that hints at a possible upcoming IPO.

Let’s jump right in with the big-picture numbers, which are coming in new quarterly data from TrendForce. According to that data, Huawei controlled 19.1 percent of the Chinese smartphone market in the third quarter, down from 20.4 percent in the previous quarter. (Chinese article) Total smartphone sales in China reached 168 million for the quarter. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Huawei in Late-Year Surge, As Apple Tries to Halt Skid

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Bottom line: Apple will need to lower its prices to stabilize its position in China, while Huawei could also soon face pricing pressure due to growing challenges from up-and-comers like Oppo and Vivo.

Huawei’s sales surge in Q3

Two of China’s top smartphone brands have been in the headlines in recent days, spotlighting a rapid ascension of the homegrown Huawei and the equally rapid decline of global giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL).

On the upside of the story, the surging Huawei announced it recently passed the 100 million mark in smartphones produced this year, reaching the milestone two months faster than in 2015. Meantime, Apple’s CEO was in China for at least the third time this year, announcing a new research and development center in a push to revive his company’s fast-fading position in its largest market after the United States. Read Full Post…

SMARTPHONES: Apple Holds Firm on China iPhone Premium

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Bottom line: Apple’s decision to keep iPhone 7 prices in China roughly the same as the 6s is aimed at reversing its sliding sales, but won’t have much effect due to lack of major new features and stiff competition from domestic rivals.

Apple holds firm on iPhone 7 prices in China
Apple holds firm on iPhone 7 prices in China

Despite skidding sales and early bets that its latest smartphone won’t do well in China, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) won’t be giving any bargains to its fans in the world’s biggest smartphone market, according to newly released global prices for the iPhone 7. The move comes as a bit of a surprise, since Apple desperately needs to reverse its recent downward plunge in China, which is now its second biggest global market after only the US. But a number of factors are at play here, including a rapidly devaluing Chinese currency and also Apple’s hesitation to lower its prices into the same realm as some of its fast-rising homegrown Chinese rivals. Read Full Post…