More local consumers are turning to China made mobile phones such as Huawei and ZTE. /Fredrick Onyango
Chinese mobile phone manufacturers are gaining ground in the highly competitive mobile handset market, raising the stakes for phone makers battling for a share of the Kenyan market as they fend off effects of the global economic crisis.
Vendors say more Kenyan consumers are turning to phones made by Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE, which are typically cheaper than those sold by bigger brands such as Nokia, Samsung and LG as they try to minimise their spending on luxury items.
“The competition is cut throat and quality is now becoming an issue. Chinese companies are now our biggest challenge because Kenya is a price sensitive market,” said Ms Patricia King’ori, GSM general manager at Samsung East Africa.
The shift in buying trends comes at a time when mobile manufacturers like Nokia, Samsung and LG were celebrating the gains of the removal of value added tax (VAT) on mobile handsets in the last national budget.
The VAT reduction meant volumes of their phones imported from countries like Dubai shrunk as there was no longer a vast price difference between local and foreign phone prices.
But a recent push by Chinese manufacturers to drive their brands locally has seen an increase in the number of phones being bought from the country.
Carbon copies These phones are cheaper and in some cases carbon copies of more popular international brands.
In response to the trend, mobile phone manufacturers have been forced to alter their strategies and realign their product lines to capture a share of the market.
“As a result we are now seeing more features being introduced for low-end phones — colour screens are now nearly a standard, as is the torch and radio features,” said Mr Amit Patel, the head of mobile sales at Samsung.
Mr Patel said manufacturers were keen to carve out niches for themselves in order to capitalise on changing trends in consumer buying habits.
“Touch screen is becoming a big driver for us. We have launched several brands which are cheaper than other models in the market but which deliver value,” said Mr Patel.
Industry statistics reveal that Samsung has managed to double its local market share over the last year, edging closer to market leader Nokia. Nokia remains the largest retailer of mobile phones both locally and worldwide, but has been hit by the emergence of the new competitors and the impact of the financial crisis on spending.
“Competition remains intense, but demand in the overall mobile device market appears to be bottoming out. We are balancing short-term priorities with our longer-term growth ambitions as elements of the mobile handset, PC, internet and media industries converge to form a new industry.
“Consumers will increasingly expect devices and services designed as integrated solutions. To capture this opportunity we are accelerating our strategic transformation into a solutions company,” said Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasuvo.
Analysts say the first quarter of 2009 fulfilled an expected trend that will last throughout the year in terms of sales of mobile handsets.
The worldwide mobile phone market shipped 35 million fewer units than it did during the same period one year ago, and all indications point to the trend continuing through 2010.
The mobile phone industry has long been characterised by its seasonal trends, where the first quarter always delivers a sequential decline after a busy holiday season.
However, the drop in this first quarter was especially sharp, according to ABI Research director Kevin Burden.
“The 255.6 million handsets shipped represented a 20 per cent decline from Q4 2008, which was already a down quarter, and a nearly 12 per cent decline from Q1 2008.”
Shipment reductions are a new reality for the mobile phone market.
“The industry and consumers have gone into protection mode. Protecting profitability has led handset manufacturers to produce less and to operators and retail outlets holding smaller inventories.
Consumers are also realizing that many of the features they desire are already in the handset they currently use, and are willing to forego an upgrade until they have more confidence in their own futures,” said Mr Burden.
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