Focus on satisfying customers’ needs

Guo Ping, deputy chairman of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world’s fifth-largest smartphone maker, reckons the Chinese firm’s phones are unbeatable in terms of hardware, and pours water on market distinctions between ‘high and low end’ models.

Huawei is looking to drive sales of its consumer devices, but is hobbled by not having effective consumer retail channels. Traditionally, it co-brands its devices with carriers.

Mr Ping doesn’t see the smartphone world in such simple terms as high-end or low-end, and sets his bar at simply delivering what consumers want in a phone - such as waterproof models.

During an interview, he placed two Huawei smartphones on the table and asked: “Are these high-end?” He then dropped one phone into a bowl and poured water over it.

“On the technology front we have a lot of breakthroughs. I don’t know low-end or high-end. We just care about satisfying customer needs,” he said.

Huawei expects sales to increase to $9 billion this year from $8bln last year, and predicts it will ship around 60 million smartphones - double last year’s total.

Its branding push comes after years of churning out lower-end smartphones. Going upmarket could plump up margins.