Tecno Mobile eyes Middle East Market with the launch of Phantom 6 series in Dubai
Last week, on Friday 25th, Tecno Mobile finally unveiled the much-awaited addition to the Phantom series, Phantom 6 and Phantom 6 plus. The two devices were unveiled at Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa, Dubai,moving away from the tradition of an African launch.
The reason why Tecno Mobile decided to launch the two devices in Dubai it says is to eye its brand presence in the Middle-east and South America market. This was the first international launch the company which is regarded as the most disruptive brand in the smartphone market, was doing.
Tecno Mobile already has a dominant market share in Six African countries namely Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Cameroon. Its move to venture into the Middle East and South American markets is, therefore, a good strategy as it seeks to increase its revenues .
“We are excited about the recent report that puts TECNO as Africa’s number one mobile brand; controlling an average 25.3% market share in all the major markets in the sub-Saharan region. Currently, Nigeria and Tanzania are our largest markets” says Attai Oguche, Tecno Marketing, and PR lead.
But again, it will be interesting to see what impact Tecno Mobile will have in these markets, especially the Middle East, considering a recent report by International Data Corporation (IDC) that showed how the Middle East Mobile Phone Market Suffered Worst Quarter-on-Quarter Decline on Record Q1 2016. According to the figures released, the market totaled 26.1 million units for the first three months of the year, a significant drop from the 29.49 million units shipped in the previous quarter. The performance was even worse from a year-on-year perspective, with shipments down 12.5% from the 29.78 million units seen in Q1 2015.
In 2015, the Middle East and Africa smartphone shipment were set to total 155 million units after increasing 66% year on year during the first quarter to reach more than 36 million units Corporation (IDC).
Tecno might, however, have a huge impact on the strong growth in the region’s smartphone market which is largely being driven by the emergence of low-priced devices that are primarily powered by Android. In Africa, the company has been releasing a number of less costly devices, and the reception has been quite good. Almost half of all the smartphones shipped across Africa (45.1%) in Q1 2015 were priced below $100, while almost 75% fall under $200. This same low-priced smartphone are also having a considerable impact in the Middle East, with the $100–200 price band accounting for the market’s biggest share. Tecno Mobile wants to have a share of this market.
IDC expects the Middle East mobile phone market to continue to stutter throughout 2016, with a slight recovery possible by the end of the year due to the holiday season and a number of major launches that are slated for Q4 2016. Will Tecno Mobile change this?
