Many players are scrambling for territory in India to decode the overseas business secrets of Chinese mobile phones

The rise of Chinese mobile phone manufacturers is not only a major competitor in the domestic market, but also a major player in overseas markets. According to the latest data, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers have a market share of over 50% in India, over 40% in Africa, and over 20% in Europe. Experts said that from the initial low-end representatives to the current market mainstream, Chinese mobile phones not only have competitive advantages in technology and price, but more importantly, localized innovation with service as the core.

Global share rises

According to the latest report released by research firm Counterpoint Research, in November 2016, Chinese mobile phone brands' market share in India exceeded 50%, while this figure was only 19% in the previous year.

When it comes to Chinese mobile phone exports overseas, Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Transsion") is known as the invisible "export champion". It is understood that Transsion owns "independent portfolio brands" such as TECNO, itel, and Infinix. These brands are well-known in the African market and have a market share of over 40% in key African countries.

Statistics show that Transsion shipped more than 50 million mobile phones in 2015, and it is expected to ship more than 80 million units in 2016. The total global shipments exceeded 200 million units.

In the European market, domestic manufacturers represented by Huawei are also making continuous progress. According to the latest news released by Huawei, Huawei's smartphone shipments reached 139 million units in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 29%, with the proportion of domestic and foreign shipments basically the same.

Data from GfK, one of the world's top five market research companies, shows that Huawei currently has a market share of more than 15% in 33 countries around the world and more than 20% in another 18 countries, nearly half of which are European countries. In the Northeastern European and Western European markets, Huawei's market share has exceeded 15% and 10% respectively.

There is no doubt that domestic mobile phones are accelerating their conquest of the global market. Industry observer Hong Shibin pointed out that the rapid growth of domestic mobile phones in the global market is mainly related to the strategy of mobile phone manufacturers to accelerate their entry into overseas markets. Since 2014, affected by the saturation of the domestic market and fierce competition between new and old brands, many domestic mobile phone manufacturers have gradually begun to expand overseas, such as Xiaomi's entry into Singapore, India and other markets, and Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo and other companies have accelerated their overseas expansion with the help of existing channels.

Until now, developing overseas markets is also the core strategy of domestic mobile phone manufacturers. LeTV, which has just entered the smartphone industry for two years, has landed in countries and regions such as Thailand, India, Russia, and the United States in the past year. When talking about the development strategy for 2017, Li Nan, vice president of Meizu, also emphasized that after reaching a settlement with Qualcomm , the company will accelerate its entry into overseas markets in the future, focusing on Western European markets such as France and Italy.

Obvious price advantage

Industry analysts pointed out that the most difficult region for Chinese mobile phone brands to go global is Europe and the United States, while the most critical market at the moment is India. India has a population second only to China and is in the stage of smartphone popularization, just like China five years ago, with broad market prospects.

According to data released by CMR, India's mobile phone shipments reached 197.5 million units in the first three quarters of September 2016, and it is expected that India's smartphone shipments will reach 265 million units in 2016, of which 116 million will be smartphones. According to data released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, domestic mobile phone shipments in 2016 reached 560 million units, of which 522 million were smartphones.

In fact, global smartphone manufacturers are competing for this market. In May 2016, Apple CEO Cook visited India, hoping to persuade the authorities to allow the opening of official Apple stores, but it seems that it was not going well.

At the end of 2016, Li Bingzhong, Vice President of OPPO and President of the Indian company, announced that he would invest 1.6 billion yuan to build an industrial park in India, which is expected to be completed within 2-3 years. According to the plan formulated by OPPO, the initial annual production capacity of the park is 50 million units, and the ultimate goal is to produce 100 million units per year. Gionee has also been early in laying out the Indian market and established good relations with local social channels. Currently, it has more than 10,000 channel salesmen in India and nearly 20,000 retail outlets.

In the global competition for the Indian market, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers occupy half of the market. In addition to channels, product price competitiveness is the key. According to the latest report from IDC, Chinese mobile phone manufacturers took 40% of the market share in the 30 major cities in India in October 2016.

Neil Shah, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, said Chinese smartphone makers are able to obtain low-cost components and equip low-cost phones with metal casings, which makes Chinese brands such as Gionee, Oppo, OnePlus and Lenovo higher in quality than Samsung's products. "As a large global company, Samsung cannot compete on price like its Chinese competitors."

The Indian market is much more price sensitive than China. Previously, the cheapest mobile phone in the Indian market was frequently reported to be priced at only 24 yuan. This market situation is mainly affected by local economic development factors. In the Indian mobile phone market, models below 100 US dollars dominate, and about 70 brands of products are priced below 100 US dollars. Compared with companies such as Apple and Samsung, making the ultimate smartphone while ensuring a certain cost is exactly what Chinese companies are good at.

Focus on service innovation

The price advantage of domestic mobile phone manufacturers is closely related to the country's huge and complete industrial chain. Data shows that in 2008, there was only one Chinese smartphone supplier among the top ten in the world, but by 2016, China accounted for 11 of the top 20 smartphone suppliers in the world.

Some industry insiders even commented that China has a complete and mature supply chain that is unique in the world, with thousands of large and small supply chain manufacturers forming a complete smartphone hardware service system. Any company can quickly launch a mobile phone brand based on this with an idea or a hot spot.

In addition to product cost-effectiveness, service innovation of domestic mobile phone manufacturers is also seen by the industry as another secret to seize overseas markets. Chen Biao, an analyst at BiDa Consulting, pointed out that the innovation of domestic mobile phone manufacturers is far beyond what the outside world sees. Although they have made little progress in core areas such as chips and screens, they can often impress users in terms of functions, such as photography, appearance, dual SIM dual standby, etc.

It is understood that one of Transsion's weapons to open up the African market is dual-SIM mobile phones, which are not uncommon in the domestic market. "Most African consumers have several SIM cards, but they do not have the ability to buy multiple mobile phones. It is precisely because of this demand that we took the lead in launching dual-SIM mobile phones in Africa. As expected, the product is very popular." Liu Junjie, chief marketing officer of Transsion Holdings, analyzed.

In addition, Transsion has also developed mobile phone functions based on the characteristics and living habits of African consumers. According to Liu Junjie, unlike ordinary mobile phones that use facial recognition when taking photos, Transsion phones use eyes and teeth to locate, and on this basis, enhance exposure to help African consumers take more satisfactory photos.

Industry insiders even pointed out that it was because Transsion spent a lot of effort on consumer insights and product development, and paid meticulous attention to details, that it was able to win the competition with many international brands in Africa.

In addition, in terms of brand promotion, domestic brands also pay attention to local integration. A relevant person in charge of Gionee told the Beijing Business Daily reporter that in the Indian market, Gionee has carried out deeper localization than other domestic mobile phones, such as becoming the sponsor of KKR, the champion team of the Indian Cricket Premier League. Cricket is popular in India, and more than 85% of Indians pay attention to cricket events; setting up a leukemia fund and participating in local charity activities, deeply integrating into the lives of local people. Through these years of accumulation, the Gionee brand has been recognized by Indian users.

Hong Shibin pointed out that the current internationalization of domestic mobile phone manufacturers is mainly concentrated in emerging markets, focusing on the mid- and low-end markets. Only a few brands such as Huawei have made breakthroughs in the international high-end market. This is a problem that many domestic mobile phone manufacturers need to think about. How to use the existing market to complete the accumulation of core technology, product quality, and intellectual property rights is the key to the future growth and strength of Chinese mobile phone companies.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.