HTC has officially announced a drop in sales. Its struggle with the market leaders – Apple and Samsung – is escalating.
In November, the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer’s sales fell by 30% compared to October of this year. Sales also fell by 20% compared to November 2010. If last year they amounted to 1.27 billion dollars, this year the figure has decreased to 1.03 billion. As for October sales, they were around $ 1.46 billion.
By the way, a month ago HTC revised its revenue forecasts for the fourth quarter, reducing them by 23%. For the last three months of 2011, the company expects to receive the same revenue as last year – $ 3.4 billion. Earlier, she considered the possibility of receiving more than 4 billion. The company’s representatives explained the decrease in expectations by “increased competition in the smartphone market, as well as the unfavorable economic climate.”
However, John Strand, founder of the Danish consulting company Strand Consult, has a different opinion: “Apple fans always want the latest iPhone model. HTC customers do not have such desires. They do not want to switch to the next HTC phone, once it appears, because it is difficult for customers of this company to understand what they will get special if they buy a new gadget from their favorite manufacturer.”
However, it’s too early to perform requiem for HTC. Back in August of this year, HTC sales showed a huge increase compared to August of last year. The growth amounted to a significant 83.3%. In monetary terms, sales reached 1.56 billion.
Also, we should not forget that in the third quarter HTC had a 10.8% share in the smartphone market, taking, as a result, the fourth place in terms of sales – after Samsung, Apple and Nokia.