In a report yesterday on Reuters, HTC’s Chair woman & co-founder Cher Wang and CFO Chalin Chang, spoke about the future vision of the handset maker. HTC has been in a bad place for awhile now as profits and marketshare continue to decline. Q4 2013 marks the second quarter for HTC where they have run an operating loss. As 2014 has already begun, HTC looks to refocus their efforts to make for a better year. Mid-range phones might be HTC’s saving grace.
Chair Cher Wang thinks that mid-range phones might be the key to righting the ship. She acknowledges that HTC focused too much attention on their flagship last year (the HTC One). A more balanced approached that offers more phones to more markets is what she thinks HTC needs. There are a lot of emerging markets around the world that don’t have the economy to support the sales of $500+ phones. A mid-ranged device, that features high specs and a low cost (a la the Moto X), might be the key.
On their Chinese website, HTC features 53 smartphones for sale, of that group 21 cost OVER $500. This is especially telling of HTC’s troubles given the price bracket for phones that received the most growth last year in China was the under $150 grouping. HTC has to figure out a way to continue to raise the quailty of the products they produce, while continuing to bring the cost down, if they hope to have a future.
We are expected to see the future of HTC in the coming weeks. They are expected to unveil their new flagship phone (M8) no later than March. Chair woman Wang, also said to look for a mid-ranged offering to be announced with it. We wish HTC the best of luck as competition breads innovation. Keep it locked to TGSB for all the coming news from HTC.
