Amid the increasing competition from Apple and Samsung, the Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC will not compromise its strategy of selling medium to high-ranged phones, even in its struggling time when the company is in dire need of improving the sales figure.
"We don't want to destroy our brand image," HTC CEO Peter Chou said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "We insist on using better materials to make better products that offer premium experience. Many consumers like that."
While the smartphone maker is increasingly losing its stronghold in the US smartphone market, it is expanding its wings in India, China and Brazil. HTC, which is regarded as the third musketeer in the dwindling smartphone sales race, will not negotiate on the pricing of the phone and will go ahead with its existing high-end smartphones. Chou adds that HTC will not use "cheap, cheap phones" to improve its market share. Rather the company will work on its marketing efforts, shipment growth and its distribution network to enhance its profit margin on emerging markets.
Chou announced shipments for the Chinese market in 2012 will breed at least three times than the last year's total shipment number. The executive also mentioned that shipments to India and other emerging markets are steadily improving which makes him affirmative about the success of the current strategy.
Chou's statement came when all leading smartphone manufacturers like RIM, Nokia, Samsung and Sony are foraying into low-end or budget smartphones for emerging markets.
Meanwhile, the smartphone manufacturer has cut its second-quarter revenue target by 13 percent after it failed to meet market expectations in the US and Europe. Apple, the biggest rival of HTC, recently filed petition against HTC phones for infringing patents and HTC phones were held up at the border.
HTC, however, is gearing up to overcome the setbacks and Chou has indicated the possibility of acquiring small software and marketing companies and bounce back in the European markets.
HTC, few weeks back, introduced HTC Desire C and HTC Desire V phones for emerging markets.
