Ever seen an itel smartphone or feature phone? itel is a company that was founded back in 2007 and owned by Transsion – the same company that owns TECNO and Infinix. Interestingly, Transsion is the same company behind Afmobi, the guys that brought you PalmChat and PalmPlay. itel’s initial target market was Dubai, but later decided to expand into the African market in 2008.
itel as a brand, has presence in 42 countries around the globe. Among the list is Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Cameroon, India and Bangladesh. The company revealed that more than 200,000 mobile handsets are produced per day in factories located in Africa and China. More than 70 million itel mobile handsets (feature phones and smart phones) have been sold worldwide.
Chris Zhao, itel’s Manager told Techweez that it was not easy cracking the African market. He informed us that in 2009 the company only sold 1 million units, which is a small number considering back then they only focused on feature phones which did not cost that much, smartphones were later introduced in 2013. In comparison, the company sold 50 Million units in 2016. The company plans to extend its reach to Asia-Pacific and South America and projects an annual growth rate of more than 30% in the next three to five years.
Anyway, the main story today is itel’s “new face”, a deal with Kenyan musician come actor, Avril. itel Kenya announced that they will be working with Avril, under a one year contract. Avril will be the main brand image of the company and she will be expected to attend itel sponsored campus events, CSR activities and heighten itel mobile’s presence in the market through avenues such as social media. In short, the company wanted someone to make them look cool.
Speaking at the Press conference, Chris Zhao mentioned that they decided to work with Avril because she is young and successful which touches the hearts of many hence making her the best choice, since itel is a young brand that is growing at a fast rate and quite affordable to the “common mwananchi”.
“I am extremely excited to partner with itel on their new chapter in Kenya. Great affordable phones help us communicate better and that’s the essence of good living. I’m looking forward to a great partnership” Said Avril.
[…] Itel comes in third at 6% market share and Infinix follows at 3% market share. Lenovo saw flat growth while ZTE and Alcatel both suffered slight declines. The Transsion domination at the top of the list is clear, with the company taking up 21% of the African smartphone market, falling slightly behind Samsung and miles away from Huawei. […]
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