CHINESE phone brand Itel is banking on the Filipino budget market as it looks to sell more of its affordable smartphones this year.
Lei Zhang, Itel Philippines country manager, said the company seeks to increase its share in the P4,000 priced smartphone market.
In 2019, the firm sold around one million units to Filipino buyers. This year, it targets to double its sales to two million, as it banks on the strong domestic consumption.
During the company’s first anniversary event in Lapu-Lapu City Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, officials announced that the firm aims to strengthen its presence in the Visayas market, particularly in Cebu.
Itel has around 500 dealers in the Visayas, with local company Aerophone as its authorized distributor for its products in the region.
Zhang projected a huge potential in the Philippine market, given the brand’s strong sales growth in 2019.
Currently, Itel’s share in the P4,000 smartphone market segment stands at 10 percent.
Rachel Wei, the firm’s head for Southeast Asia operations, said it could offer more affordable prices because of the higher sales volume of their products.
Aside from smartphones, Itel also sells feature phones, with a current 8.5 percent market share in the Philippines.
According to Wei, there is still demand for feature phones as there are still consumers who can’t afford to buy smartphones.
According to analyst firm Canalys, Chinese phone maker Oppo held the biggest market share at 28 percent in the Philippines as of the second quarter of 2019 in terms of total smartphone shipments to the country followed by Samsung and Vivo. (CSL)