Making the Huawei connection in five ways

I have noticed how much Huawei smartphones have grown in the Philippine market – to the delight of smartphone consumers, who have benefited from its rise.

Huawei is in the business of making smartphones for consumers across the many markets here in the Philippines. As we all know, we are a nation of people who spend much of our lives glued to happenings in the world – through our smartphones.

But although being connected is a must, Pinoys are also very much a picture-perfect country. I mean, we love to make sure that all the significant events in our lives are taken with our ever-handy smartphone.

Huawei knows this so well that they continue to strive to equip us with smartphones that not only make good connections but also gadgets that can let us take photos just like professionals.

I recently got a chance to interview George Li, country head of Huawei Consumer Business Group, and I asked him about where Huawei is headed in the country.

Philippine Star: Huawei has released new smartphones – Huawei P20 and P20 Pro and Nova 3 and Nova 3i and several others. How do these releases target different consumers?

George Li: Huawei as a company gives prime importance to consumers. We make sure to constantly listen to customer feedback and master the needs and lifestyle of users. We develop and offer various lines of handsets targeted towards different consumers:

The Y series reflect Huawei’s entry-level offering. We market it as an affordable phone with packed features perfect for smartphone first-timers.

Our Nova series became popular when we launched it last year. It’s our mid-range offering equipped with flagship features but at very competitive prices. Nova caters to millennials who are bold, creative, and driven.

The P series is Huawei’s superior camera photography line and the device for people who are fashion-forward and are into trendy design. It’s perfect for aspiring and pro photographers who are looking for a great device with great cameras. The recently launched Huawei P20 and Pro are equipped with Leica Triple camera. It caters to those who love taking pictures to the next level and are aesthetically creative.

The Mate series is about a fusion of creativity and productivity. It’s a flagship device perfect for multitaskers and business professionals as Mate devices are equipped with the latest and topnotch innovations from Huawei. You’ll have to wait when we launch our next Mate this year.

Are the new releases made so that consumers can have more choices?

The answer is yes. Huawei never disappoints its consumers and we want to make sure that every consumer can get their dream phone according to their lifestyle and standards. We’re also striving to open more concept stores in the Philippines so consumers can personally experience how good our products are.

In the Philippines, there seems to be a growing market for Huawei phones. How has Huawei done this?

We are happy to see that Huawei’s brand influence is on the rise and we have witnessed the operational performance’s rapid and healthy growth. Last year, we were in sixth spot but according to GFK, as of June 2018, we already surpassed Vivo, making us third in the local market. Huawei achieved such a good performance in just one year because it prioritizes the experience and needs of consumers.

Huawei makes sure that for every product, it will bring value to their consumers from the very beginning until the end.

I would say that one of the key factors is that the brand recognizes the importance of research and development. Our ideas and innovations revolve around the user’s needs and it allows us to build multiple channels to listen to users and to improve and bring innovations for better consumer experiences. The secret to Huawei’s success comes from its consistent and massive investments into research and development. Every year, we are investing 10 per cent of our investments to research and more than 80,000 staff members who worked for the research and development department, amounting to 45 per cent of the total number of employees, to create a device that the consumer wants.

Our priority is to let customers enjoy and experience our products in an easier and better way. We want them to experience life through our products – not just taking photos but also making memories and enjoying the fullest capabilities of our devices.

What is the goal of Huawei for the Philippines by the end of 2018?

I can say that the business is growing very smoothly in the Philippine market, so we are not putting any aggressive action at the moment. Our products speak for themselves and Filipino consumers are starting to choose Huawei phones over any other smartphones and that alone is a huge achievement for the brand. By the end of the year, we want to bring better products and have a stable and continuously increasing market and make our products very well-known and available to all consumers nationwide.

Currently, we now have 77 concept stores; 25 are under construction and 28 is to be constructed. We are targeting to have 130 concept stores opened before the end of 2018.

We want to build more concept stores and let people experience the phone and prove to them that each Huawei device is revolutionary and a one-of-a-kind device. We want to position Huawei as a brand that is very brave and always innovating.

Do you foresee Huawei becoming the No. 1 smartphone in the Philippines? If yes, by what year?

Huawei’s pursuit is to make it possible. We will try our very best to bring the most advanced technology to our Filipino consumers and in the Philippine market.

Last year, our market value was just at 5 percent but according to the GFK report as of July 2018, our market value increased to 15.7 percent. It is very evident that people are becoming more aware of Huawei because of our continued innovation and marketing strategies. As a brand driven with technology and product, we will give the consumer what they really look for in a phone. Hopefully, by 2020, we are already on top but then again, we are not always after the ranking, what’s important for us is to create a device that most of our consumers will love and to retain their trust for the brand.