Manufacturer Discussion : HTC : HTC pulls out of South Korea following poor sales
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HTC may have put out an impressive range of smartphones for 2012, but the company has still been struggling financially against the likes of Samsung. The company announced today that it would be withdrawing completely from the South Korean market following strong competition. As a result, HTC will be closing its Korean office, although it notes that it will be “a long term process and not an immediate one as we want to cause the least disturbance for our customers here and continue after-sales services.”
A major player in the smartphone wars bowing out of a major market is cause for concern, however. HTC faced strong competition in South Korea from incumbents such as Samsung and LG, with Apple’s iPhone also pushing its way into the Asian market. The move comes after HTC’s Korea manager, Lee Chul-hwan, was fired six months after he stepped into the role. HTC reportedly had a smartphone launch planned for South Korea in the second half of 2012, plans which may have been cancelled given the company’s withdrawal from the country.
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Posted: 2012-07-30 18:54:26
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Cut throat competition. For some reason, I thought HTC was actually South Korean but it's actually based in Taiwan.
[ This Message was edited by: goldenface on 2012-07-30 19:52 ]
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Posted: 2012-07-30 20:52:02
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First it was Brazil and now this.
I remember when they used to be very popular over here, now I hardly see many people with HTCs. It wouldn't surprise me if they scale down their operations or maybe even pull out of SA as well.
I have a feeling they are slowly getting into financial troubles.
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Posted: 2012-07-31 14:39:32
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The HTC Desire was a hit. What happened to them do you reckon?
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Posted: 2012-07-31 16:17:33
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On 2012-07-31 14:39:32, Dups! wrote:
First it was Brazil and now this.
I remember when they used to be very popular over here, now I hardly see many people with HTCs. It wouldn't surprise me if they scale down their operations or maybe even pull out of SA as well.
I have a feeling they are slowly getting into financial troubles.
Funny enough they are actually opening/have opened their African HQ here in SA and are no longer using Leaf as a distribution partner here, there was an article about this at MyBB a while ago, they seem to be very enthusiastic about our smartphone market, but i agree, you no longer see many HTCs around here. I remember the days of the WM Touch Diamond, and HTC Touch HD, those were big here and so was the Desire, Wildfire, HD2 and Desire HD, i thought the One X and One S would do just as well, but i havent seen many, maybe 1 or 2, and they havent done enough marketing, unlike Samsung and even Apple who are marketing like crazy here. Apple even took the Lifestyle cover in The Sunday Times to market the iPad.
[ This Message was edited by: Tsepz_GP on 2012-07-31 15:41 ]
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Posted: 2012-07-31 16:35:37
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On 2012-07-31 16:17:33, goldenface wrote:
The HTC Desire was a hit. What happened to them do you reckon?
A combination of resting on their laurels after their earlier models became hits and the most important one- advertising and marketing and then strong competition are what did them in IMO.
I really forsee major problems for them in the near future.
@Tsepz_GP
I didn't know about them ditching Leaf, thanks for the info. I think they are now worried about that decision seeing how things are turning out.
I was in Tshwane a few months ago and I also saw RIM advertising their local office/headquarter or something like that opening in that city.
Interestingly, I saw a research this year that placed HTC behind Sony Mobile in terms of market share in SA. That is a scary scenario for HTC, I mean Sony/Sony Ericsson have over the years fallen behind the curve and to be behind them now means things are bad for HTC.
[ This Message was edited by: Dups! on 2012-07-31 17:42 ]
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Posted: 2012-07-31 18:07:40
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Err no. Africa is a developing market and I have no doubt in my mind that the cheaper offerings by Sony in the range of the U and P shall sell more than the overpriced pieces being distributed by HTC. Market share, contrary to the views of people here, hinges on a companys mid range portfolio.
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Posted: 2012-07-31 19:24:36
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Dups!
Indeed, and with Nokia, Blackberry and Samsung still owning the most share here, companies like Sony and Htc are in a great deal of trouble. The trick with the SA Market is to customise your offering for South Africans and work closely with the networks and media here, not just throw a bunch of mid-end smartphones and expect to own the market.
Se_dude
Africa as a whole cant be looked at as a market, the difference between South Africa , Congo and Senegal for example is HUGE, some countries are developing (South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia etc...) while others are under developed (Mozambique, Senegal, Ethiopia etc...).
If we are talking South Africa, it will take more than just mid end, you need a clear price and benefit distinction between the low end, mid end and high end, and with each tailored to its audience, thats why RIM, Nokia and Samsung are so successful here, they seem to understand the BRICS countries pretty well as thats where all 3 are doing well in.
If HTC and Sony struggle with countries like Brazil and SA, i'd say they will have a hard time with the other BRICS countries, and the rest of Africa and South America.
[ This Message was edited by: Tsepz_GP on 2012-07-31 19:22 ]
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Posted: 2012-07-31 20:18:44
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Is the Wildfire high-end? The research/survey was done before the U and P were even in our market.
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Posted: 2012-07-31 20:20:34
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Wildfire is definetly low-end, and is very competitively priced.
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Posted: 2012-07-31 20:26:11
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