HTC’s dwindling popularity and revenue have been prevalent for years now. Seems like it has reached a point where the Taiwanese phone-maker might halt smartphone operations in India.
The primary reason for HTC shutting shop is the increasing popularity of Samsung and Xiaomi who have surged way past HTC in the smartphone market. The move does not come as a surprise. The Economic Times has reported that HTC India’s top management, Faisal Siddiqui; country head, Vijay Balachandran; sales head, and R Nayyar; product head, have all resigned. The company has also asked its 70-80 member team to resign with a few exceptions like CFO Rajeev Tayal.
Gizchina News of the week
While the company will halt their smartphone operations in the country, they would still continue selling virtual devices online. The operations will be completely controlled by the Taiwan company. One executive was quoted saying that HTC may re-enter the Indian market as an online exclusive brand, but that will happen only after it is able to turnaround sales globally as it is currently struggling in other markets. As of now, it’s quitting.
Dead Company Walking
An HTC spokesperson said, “The recent reduction in workforce in the India office is designed to more appropriately reflect local and regional market conditions, and will help HTC more effectively advance into a new stage of growth and innovation. There are still more than ten employees in the India office providing full functionality.” Although HTC may be up and ready to ship out of the country, it still owes money in several crores as stated by a distributor of the brand.
The Taiwanese brand saw a workforce reduction of almost a quarter in their production line. If anything, these reports spell the doom for HTC. Their latest flagship received mixed review and HTC has barely managed to make any ripples in the market. We might just see HTC go out of business in a couple of years.
