Huawei looks to phone boom

The company plans to spend more than $100 million for marketing in Southeast Asia this year and next year, because the region is the fast growing mass market. 

Yang Shu, president and chief executive officer of Huawei Southeast Asia, said yesterday that Southeast Asia is the growth engine for Huawei’s Consumer Business Group. Thomas Liu, managing director of Huawei Device Southeast Asia, said Huawei targets about 3 per cent of Thailand’s smartphone market, which is forecast by GFK to be about 10 million units. 

That is down from 5 per cent because the company 10 months ago adjusted it strategy from a business-to-business model, which is manufacturing smartphones under carriers’ brands, to a focus on the Huawei brand. It has also changed its focus from the low end to the mid- to high-level smartphone market, which might affect sales by unit but not by value. 

“We have been transforming our business model for 10 months. We turned to focus on our brand and change the target market from low-end to premium,” he said.

The company needs to build brand awareness while creating brand loyalty. It plans to spend $9 million for marketing in Thailand this year, and also expects to spend more next year.

“We’re focusing on our sales to provide better products and services. The marketing budget will be spent on distribution (shops and retailers), building brand awareness and improving after-sales service both online and offline (service counters).  “We welcome new [Chinese smartphone] comers in the Thai market. The market is growing very fast, so many new players come in,” he said. Jim Xu, sales and marketing president of the Huawei Consumer Business Group, said the company expects to ship almost 80 million smartphones worldwide this year, an increase from 52 million last year.