For a long time, China has been the world's largest smartphone market, accounting for 30% of global smartphone sales. However, as China's economic growth has slowed down, the market has become increasingly saturated, prompting Chinese smart phone manufacturers to go abroad to seek new growth points.

 

According to data released by market research firm IDC, China's smartphone shipments accounted for 32.3% of the global market in 2014. In 2015, the annual growth rate of smart phone shipments in China is estimated to be only 1.2%, which was 19.7% in 2014. With the continued expansion of high-growth markets such as India, by 2019, the share of Chinese smartphones in the global market will drop to 23.1%.

 

At the same time, analysts at market research firm Gartner also said that in the second quarter of 2015, China's smartphone sales fell 4% year-on-year. This led to the lowest growth rate of smartphone sales since 2013. In the second quarter, global smartphone sales increased by 13.5% year-on-year, totaling 330 million units.

 

However, China's smart phone manufacturers have been striving for the market in the United States and Europe. In Europe and the United States, brands still have a strong influence on people’s buying decisions, and competitors often invest a lot of money for marketing.

 

Many Chinese smart phone manufacturers have adopted new strategies to win the favor of foreign consumers. In 2014, Lenovo acquired Google’s Motorola Mobile for US$12.5 billion. It has established a foothold in the United States and Europe, and in 2014 became the third largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. In addition, Lenovo continues to release Motorola branded products, and recently launched the latest 179-pound mobile phone. Moto G. Lenovo released two Moto X mobile phones, of which Moto X Play targets more active users, while Moto X Style targets People who love luxury goods.

 

Xiaomi, known as the "Chinese Apple," is also concerned about developing markets, and recently announced plans to start selling smartphones in Africa. Xiaomi’s strategy has been successful in India. It is said that over the past six months, 1 million mobile phones have been sold here. The success of Xiaomi depends to a large extent on its simple and effective marketing strategy. Xiaomi sells mobile phones through online stores, which greatly reduces distribution costs. It also promotes products through social media, word of mouth, and popular "time-limited" purchases.

 

At the same time, as the world's largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, Huawei has also launched its own independent mobile phone brand Glory. In addition to making it easier for Westerners to promote their brands, the goal is to attract young fashion consumers who like to buy high-end smart phones at reasonable prices. Huawei released the latest flagship smartphone glory 7 in the United Kingdom last week. The device is said to have fairly high specifications, such as an aluminum fuselage, 5.2-inch high-definition display, a fingerprint reader, a 200,000-pixel rear camera, and an 8-megapixel camera, which cost only 250 pounds. Half price of mobile phone.

 

Consumers increasingly need the personalization and flexibility of smartphones. The strategy of beautifying consumers in the R&D process and allowing them to influence product design can make them very different from competitors. Zhao Ming said that with the development of the industry, people no longer regard their smartphones as “Samsung products” or “Glory products”, but as “my products”, and their functions will be customized according to the needs of users. . He also said: "We believe that users in the future will no longer just play the role of consumers. They want to participate in the product development process. We have adjusted internal organizations, R&D institutions and supply chains to adapt to this model."

 

Like Xiaomi, Glory also sells mobile phones through online stores, including Amazon and Huawei's own virtual store vMall. Zhao Ming is very confident in this e-commerce model. It has been proven to be very successful in China and can be promoted in other markets.

 

However, we must recognize the continuing influence of mobile operators in the UK, Glory and the UK's fourth largest network Three. Glory said that this initiative has created a "brand synergy" that can help promote new mobile phones. Thomas Malleschitz, marketing director of Three, said that thousands of consumers have begun to purchase mobile phones from China through e-commerce channels. This trend prompted Three to become the sole operating partner of Glory 7 in the United Kingdom.

 

Chinese smartphone brands like Glory may become part of this trend, but they still need to continue their efforts to get rid of the image of "cheap iPhone" manufacturers. Only in this way can they win the favor of British consumers and grow into a respected brand.

 

Since Samsung and Apple’s share of the global smartphone market is 22% and 16% respectively, these companies will not view Chinese opponents as a greater threat.

 

Wood said: “It is easy to forget that 15 to 20 years ago, LG and Samsung brands also sold low-priced microwave ovens at discounted prices in Argos and Comet. Over time, these companies have become leading consumer electronics brands and believe that China The smartphone brand will not be able to make a major breakthrough in the next few years. This is a very foolish act. "