China’s ZTE eyes local smartphone market to boost its revenue base

BY STANDARD REPORTER

Chinese technology firm ZTE Corporation is positioning itself to tap into the growing smart phone market in the country.

The firm aims to grow its revenues from the country and region where the use of smartphones has been projected to grow by 40 per cent on average every year to 2017.

The company said it is planning to introduce some of its handsets in the market that will be sold through independent retailers. ZTE has largely been an infrastructure company.

Mobile operators and other technology firms putting their networks in place have contracted ZTE services. It has also had some of its handsets sold through partnerships with mobile operators.

ZTE Kenya said it would take an approach that positioned its brands closer to the customers, using a model that focuses on the needs of the buyer. “We have a customer-centered approach to our products — ZTE’s success has been built on offering phones that lend themselves well to customisation and give users mainly essential functions. We will not focus on what the competition has done or is doing but rather the needs of the customer,” said ZTE Technical Manager Andy Chow.

ZTE said it plans to replicate the moves it has made in other markets in East Africa, noting  that there is a lot of room for growth in the region especially given plans to grow Internet access through mobile telephony. 

Handset market

The plans to dive into the handset market in Kenya a are a somewhat late move, with other handset manufacturers already entrenched in the market.

These are brands like Samsung, LG, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple and even counterparts like Huawei and Tecno. However, the company is optimistic it will find its footing in the fast growing smartphone market.