How an unknown Chinese phone maker became No 3 in India by solving the oily fingers problem
India seen as one of the most important overseas smartphone markets for Chinese brands which face stiff competition at home
In the space of just one year, a little-known Chinese maker of budget mobile phones conquered India – a country with almost the same size population as its home market in China – after noticing that the local custom of eating with your hands made it difficult to operate a smartphone with oily fingers.
Shenzhen-based Transsion Holdings offered phones that could be unlocked using an oil resistant fingerprint recognition feature, an example of the localisation that helped it become one of the top three mobile phone vendors in India.
The Chinese vendor – which offers affordable smartphones and feature phones that have physical keypads and more limited functionality, costing as little as US$10 per unit – is also currently the top mobile phone vendor in Africa, with almost one third of the market share.
Arif Chowdhury, vice-president of Transsion, believes that listening to the needs of local consumers is not just a marketing slogan – it is the secret that has allowed the unknown budget phone maker to quickly stand out in any of the emerging markets it has entered.