The fate of HTC is already sealed? The Taiwanese smartphone maker swung into the red in the third quarter of 2013. The first time since 2002. Blame it on its high-end smartphone that has failed to boost sales.
“Within 12 months, I bet HTC will be removed from the smartphone market,” joked brutally Paul Amsellem, president of Mobile network group, told “Le Nouvel Observateur”. “We see with what happened with Nokia and BlackBerry. A group struggling in this market does not have a bright future.” After World number one phone, the Nokia Finn was acquired by Microsoft and the Canadian flagship BlackBerry is about to be dismantled.
HTC One does not believe
The Taiwanese manufacturer is in a difficult position. The group posted a net loss of 2.97 billion Taiwan dollars (74.3 million euros) in the third quarter of 2013. A year earlier, HTC recorded a net profit of 3.9 billion Taiwan dollars (97.9 million euros).
drop in sales is impressive. They were down 33% year on year to 47.05 billion TWD (EUR 1.2 billion), well below the 50 60 billion Taiwan dollars (between 1.3 and 1.5 billion euros ) provided by the group.
The group warned that analysts had expected a loss, but not as much. The reason? Lower sales associated with the rising costs of production and marketing for its latest model, the HTC One.
YetHTC One, billed as “a breakthrough”, “is an excellent smartphone,” says Mathieu Drida, CEO MeilleurMobile site specializing in the “Obs.” “Surely the best phone on the market elsewhere.” With a last-born Taiwanese touchscreen of 4.7 inches, a smooth aluminum shell and front dual stereo speakers, not convinced.
Lack of innovation and lack of awareness
“Blame it on a lack of recognition and brand awareness,” Mathieu Drida analysis. “Samsung has established itself as a leader through the marketing power establishment. This is the machine that HTC could not be implemented. Where a total disregard of the brand,” continues the site’s founder MeilleurMobile .
“Is there a difference between a smartphone manufactured by Huawei, ZTE and HTC?” asks Paul Amsellem. “HTC has good products but did nothing innovative. When Samsung launches smartphone with a visual recognition and Apple released an iPhone with fingerprint recognition, that HTC? A smartphone made ceramic.”
According to consulting firm IDC, the Taiwanese held in 2012 a global market share of 4.6% in the smartphone sector, down sharply from 8.8% in 2011. Samsung meanwhile posted a market share of 30.3% in 2012 and 19.1% of Apple. In the second quarter of 2013, HTC was not part of the ten largest sellers of smartphones, according to data from consulting firm ABI Research.
“HTC faces similar to those of Nokia and BlackBerry challenges,” said Bryan Wang, senior analyst at Forrester interviewed by “Le Nouvel Observateur”. “HTC is likely to suffer the same fate as Nokia and BlackBerry in the coming quarters. Unless it launches a new smartphone that will be a great success story and he gets a worldwide success … It is highly unlikely . “
A Chinese solution for HTC
The group tries to catch up in smartphones, a market dominated by South Korea’s Samsung and Apple American industry, which reaches saturation. To boost sales, HTC plans to launch by the end of the year to mid-range devices at lower prices, with China in the viewfinder. But analysts point out that the market is already highly competitive, with local companies such as Xiaomi offering much cheaper devices. While selling devices under its own brand, the Taiwanese group subcontractor for several major groups. In particular, it provides Google with its Nexus One.
“HTC began working with entities of the Chinese government on the development of a new system for the Chinese mobile market, based on Android,” said Bryan Wang. “However, the smartphone market in China is broadly divided into two segments: one side with the high-end Samsung and Apple dominates the situation and other smartphones entry level with local stakeholders well implanted. HTC will suffer from this competition. “
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