Just imagine, last year Huawei surpassed Apple in smartphone sales in the world. And this despite the fact that the company worked normally for only six months, after which sanctions were imposed on the Chinese company. Even without Google services and the support of other companies from the USA Huawei, I got more or less taxied. This can be called the safety margin of the company, the skillful actions of the management during the crisis, or the support of the Chinese population. Usually it stands behind its own people. But now it seems that Huawei have really serious problems and this year may be much more difficult for them than the previous one. Especially in the context of what is happening in the world now. What should the Chinese company do now?
The company's position is not the most enviable, but there are still chances.
Huawei who could
If I prioritize the reasons for keeping Huawei afloat above, I would prioritize them as follows.
In the first place, I would put the competent actions of the management, which was able to make sure that buyers who are far from the news of technology did not even notice the change. For this, the demand for models released before the introduction of sanctions began to be stimulated. Discounts, promotions and gifts have attracted customers who have bought these devices and will be able to use them until they break. Nobody can take Google away from them.
An approach was also taken to re-release the old flagship models. The development of technology in the world of smartphones is not so fast. You can re-release the Lite version of the flagship in a new case and under a new name, and buyers will perceive it as new. As a result, they get a good smartphone for little money, and the company continues to function.
In second place, I would put the support of the Chinese population and some government. The Chinese are always ready to support their own. Moreover, Google services do not work in China anyway. In the end, they did not lose anything, but out of a sense of solidarity they bought smartphones Huawei (sometimes with discounts). It should be noted, good smartphones.
There are even corresponding figures. Last year Huawei increased domestic sales by 66 percent. This allowed it to occupy a fantastic 42 percent of the domestic market. Considering that there are more Xiaomi, ZTE, ASUS, OPPO, VIVO, OnePlus and other less significant brands in China, this is impressive. I'm not even talking about foreign brands like Apple and Samsung.
Well, in third place I would put the company's safety margin and a large number of smartphones that were sold in the first half of the year and also created a reserve for leadership at the end of the year.
How many smartphones are selling Huawei
According to Forbes, the Chinese company is not only cutting supplies to the world, but doing it very rapidly.
A drop from 22.2 to 5.5 million smartphones sold in five months. It's a fiasco, bro.
If you look at the chart above, an unpleasant trend is clearly visible. In February Huawei I shipped 55 percent fewer smartphones to the international market than I did in January. Only 5.5 million units versus 12.2 million units. In five months, the drop will be even more depressing.
As a result, another major player in the Chinese market, Xiaomi, took advantage of the situation and did not want to miss his chance to put a weakened one Huawei on its blades. Before that, Lei Jun's company found it difficult to compete with Huawei, but under the conditions of sanctions, a chance appeared. As a result, in February of this year Xiaomi for the first time in its history sold more smartphones on the world market than Huawei.
Before that Xiaomi was strong in the low-cost segment. Huawei was also represented in it, but competitors could impose a struggle. Among flagships, even with lower prices, Xiaomi had little chance. Now they decided to strike at this segment and throw Huawei from the throne. At the best of times Huawei occupied up to 80 percent of the Chinese market for top-end devices. Times may change now. To this end, Lei Jun even said that the company is trying to reduce prices for flagships as much as possible Xiaomi.
OPPO can also impose competition Huawei. Along with Xiaomi, this company also produces high-end smartphones that have already won a certain amount of user confidence and can also bump their elbows in the top segment with models such as OPPO Find X 2 and the next generation OPPO Reno.
Huawei and coronavirus
In addition to the competition, the coronavirus, which has become the topic of the main news of the last couple of months, also has a great influence on Huawei. On the one hand, the connection seems far-fetched, but it is more than tangible.
The fact is that buyers are not up to the latest in electronics now. Everyone hunts for essential products, worries about their health and suffers from the deteriorating economic situation in the world. As a result, the entire global smartphone market is falling, but Huawei suffers the most from this.
Reuniting Huawei with Google may solve some of the problems, but it is unlikely.
If before that in the domestic market of China, buyers were ready to support the manufacturer, now they are less willing to do so. Because of this, the “safe haven for Huawei” is no longer able to provide the company with a high level of average global sales. Considering that the company “traveled” in many respects to this market, then the fall really hits us Huawei.
What awaits the smartphone market
Sales of all smartphones in China in the first quarter are forecast to fall by about 50 percent compared to the same period last year, analysts Canalys and Strategy Analytics predict. According to the results of the whole year, the decline is projected at the level of 30 percent.
There is no official position Huawei on this matter, but according to leaks, the company predicts a drop in smartphone sales in the global market by 20 percent by the end of the year. If this does happen, then for the first time since 2017, the company will sell fewer than 200 million devices worldwide.
Perhaps the situation can be saved by Huawei P40 if it turns out to be successful, but we do not know this yet. It will be shown to us very soon, but you should not expect it to become a bestseller, because it will also be isolated from Google services. Today Ivan Kuznetsov has already spoken on the topic of a new way to block Google services for Huawei.
All hopes for its app store, but so far it is damp.
It turns out that the state Huawei will depend on how quickly she can adapt her app store. If they can fill it with everything they need, which 90 percent of users enjoy, they can do it. In the meantime, it remains only to wait and hope that the company will have enough reserves to withstand these constant blows of fate. After all, even if you don't like her smartphones, they, at the very least, encourage competitors to develop and reduce prices.