HTC turns to cheaper phones for sales boost
Taiwanese firm hopes to reverse a two-year slump by expanding its product range and improving marketing for premium smartphones
Smarting from growing losses, Taiwanese phone maker HTC says it will expand its range of cheaper products as it fixes off-target marketing for its premium smartphones.
The company, which has long prided itself as a purveyor of upscale, feature-loaded products, says it needs to sell more mid-tier and affordable smartphones after losing out last year.
Muscled off-track by fast-growing Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi and giants like Samsung Electronics and Apple, HTC is seeking to reverse a two-year sales slump matched by an 80 per cent drop in its share price.
"The problem with us last year was we only concentrated on our flagship. We missed a huge chunk of the mid-tier market," co-founder and chairwoman Cher Wang said alongside chief financial officer Chang Chia-lin.
Speaking before an HTC earnings guidance presentation, Chang said the firm would sell products in the US$150 to US$300 retail price range for emerging and developed markets, along with high-end phones, which can sell for more than US$600.
HTC would not get into the "very, very low-end market", Chang said, but would soon unveil a new flagship phone.