Honor Smartphone Shipments Grew Slower Than Huawei In Q3 2018

Honor, the e-brand of Huawei, is already the market leader in the online smartphone segment in China. The company has been ahead of its rivals for few quarters and has now reported strong results in the third quarter of 2018 as well. During the third quarter of 2018, Honor reported that its shipments were up 27.1 percent and the increase in shipments is in contrast to the global slowdown of 3.1 percent during the same period.

The growth in smartphone shipments reported was however lower than the 32.9 percent overall growth reported by its parent company, Huawei. This suggests that Honor has reached a cooling off period where its own shipments are growing slower than its parent.

Honor reports that it was the market leader in the mid and high-end online smartphone market during the third quarter of 2018. The company also says that it is on track to achieve the goal of becoming the top five manufacturers in the next three years and top three in the next five years. Huawei was among the earliest to breakdown its smartphone offering into a sub-brand that focused entirely on the online retail segment. The numbers show that the idea is paying off huge dividends in a segment that remains the most competitive.

“Honor’s unrivaled products with unbeatable value help us win support from our 100 million fans worldwide. We have upgraded our branding this year with a new logo in moving colors accompanied by our slogan ‘HONOR MY WORLD’, and a new mission to create an intelligent world that belongs to the global youth. The new branding will continue to echo and further accelerate our business growth,” George Zhao, President of Honor, said in a statement.

Xiaomi and Oppo are following on that strategy with Lei Jun-led company recently making Redmi into a sub-brand and adding new sub-brand like Poco last year. BBK Electronics, the parent company of Oppo, has also made Realme, an independent entity with a focus on online smartphone segment. With these companies trying to steal Honor’s market share, the company is expected to face pressure in the next few quarters.

Huawei, on the other hand, reported that it has surpassed the milestone of shipping 200 million smartphones in 2018. The Chinese smartphone maker has managed to beat Apple to become the second largest smartphone maker globally and it remains the leader in China’s smartphone market. While last year has been a resounding success for the company, the future looks challenging with the US has closed its doors and the company facing strong headwinds in an emerging market like India.—BGR