Lenovo Egypt aims to double its market share in the local market to reach 14% in 2017.
In an interview with Daily News Egypt, smartphones sales manager at Lenovo Egypt Sherif Salem said that the mobile phone market saw a decline in the number of sold units by 30% during 2016. However, the company was able to maintain its market share and achieve growth rates in December.
What do you think of the Egyptian market’s growth in current economic conditions, especially withsome research centres expecting that the number of units sold in the Egyptian market will decrease?
According to research centres, sales of mobile phones in the Egyptian market remarkably declined by 30% in 2016 because of the instability of the US dollar price and the non-availability of some phone models.
However, Lenovo was able to avoid the decline experienced by the market and was able to maintain its market share of the number of sold products. The company also increased its market share in terms of sold phones.
How did you maintain your market share despite the declined market sales?
We have revitalised our sales in more than one way, mainly through incentivising merchants to sell the targeted amount, and through the company’s sales team.
This is in addition to allowing interest-free instalments on two years through Delta Group, a company specialised in the sale of electronic devices.
In order to overcome the economic conditions and the decline in purchasing power experienced by Egyptian consumers who certainly need smartphones, instalments are currently the best solution.
We offered special discounts on Lenovo products through Delta Group’s outlets that include Compume, Mobile Shop, Computer Shop, and RadioShack. We also offered discounts on our products on Carrefour’s anniversary.
We achieved an increase in sales by 30% during December, which confirmed that the market still has many opportunities for growth. We target to achieve growth rates of 10% in the first quarter of 2017, compared to the fourth quarter of 2016.
How do you see the future of the mobile phone market in 2017?
So far, we have a stabilised sales growth of 30%. Many of our newly launched models strongly succeeded in recent weeks, such as K6, which is a positive sign.
The Ministry of Finance announced the stabilisation of the customs US dollar. How do you see the effect of that on the market?
Stabilising the customs US dollar will help stabilising mobile phone prices during the coming period, as many brands modify the price lists of their products on a weekly basis.
The Egyptian market needs smartphones but it suffers from a decline in the purchasing power of consumers. How does your company deal with that?
About 80-85% of our products support 4G services, showing that we have great models in the market.
We are also working to launch new devices at competitive prices, as we will launch smartphones that support 4G services at a price that does not exceed EGP 1,500.
In addition, we are one of the first in modern technology companies, evidenced by our latest products launched under the brand Moto, which we acquired in 2014. The new product is a smartphone equipped with a projector, a power bank, and hands-free equipment that the consumer usually carries next to a usual smartphone. The new phone provides all of these services through a single device.
What is the market share you target in 2017?
Currently, our market share is 7%, and we are targeting to double it this year to reach 14% by late 2017 to occupy third place among competing brands.
What do you think of competition in the Egyptian market, especially with the increasing number of manufacturers?
Competition in general is healthy and beneficial to the consumer. If our products were compared to those of our competitors, ours will win in terms of price and capabilities.
At the global level, we are available in 160 countries and have about 55,000 employees. Our sales amounts to $45bn with 80m mobile phones units sold per year.
In terms of computers, we rank first in sales of computers for the third year in a row.
