In 2013, Techweez wrote a piece titled Things are Bad at HTC, Really Bad. This time, they are terrible. The Taiwanese firm which went public in 2002, has been making quarterly losses for as long as I can remember and it does not seem keen on stopping the bleeding. Part of the previous losses have been attributed to management and insider issues rocking the company as well as the not so significant marketing budget. In March 2015, long serving CEO Peter Chou, responsible for the turbulence was replaced by HTC chairperson Cher Wang and instead moved to a new role as the head of the “HTC Future Development Lab”.
These changes have not been good enough in stopping the annihilation with Bloomberg reporting that HTC forecasts a quarterly loss five times more than analysts’ estimates. The company blames plummeting smartphone sales for the significant loss as Huawei and Xiaomi continue to cede a significant chunk of its markets. The loss of market by HTC, which is known for its remarkable well designed device is underscored by the poor marketing strategies employed especially with the advent of cheap Xiaomi and Samsung devices. The company has now faded from top 10 global smartphone makers.
The company has further ruled out any mergers and changed its marketing strategy, where it will produce fewer devices over longer periods of times, with keen focus on growing its profitability. The company has also said it plans to embark on cost cutting measures in the first quarter of 2016.
Source: Bloomberg
