Let’s do an experiment!
If you can not use your cell phone for a day, please deduct 1
If you can not use your cell phone for a week, please deduct 2
If you can not use your mobile phone for a month, please deduct 3
Can not use mobile phone for a year, please allow me to call you a “god”!
Today, people have the same relationship with their mobile phones that we see in movies where smokers have the same relationship with opium. A lot of people may be uncomfortable, but uncomfortable is the closest I can think of to describe it. People are not just addicted to their phones, but “inseparable” is the answer. Only three words, the importance of the mobile phone to human performance incisively and vividly.
Don’t get me wrong! Although the emergence of mobile phones has some disadvantages, when compared with its benefits, the disadvantages can be ignored.
Nowadays it can be said that a mobile phone goes all over the world. Eating, drinking and living can all be done with a mobile phone; Entertainment office, a mobile phone can be all done… With the continuous progress of science and technology and the development of The Times, smart phones will unlock more possibilities in the future.
All right, time to get down to business. When it comes to mobile phones, what brands can you think of? Is it OPPO, Vivo or Apple, Samsung? Is it Xiaomi or Honor? Meizu or hammer? Or once the “four Heavenly Kings” China Cool Union? Sorry, the above mentioned are not the “protagonist” of today. Today we are going to talk about what is called the longest living brand in China’s mobile phone industry — Gionee.
Crisis hit, Gionee general demeanor still?
Founded in 2002, Gionee is an old dog in the mobile phone industry. In this long 16 years, although Gionee did not top the mobile phone market, but its majesty in the mobile phone market is not everyone can infringe. Gionee, known as an evergreen, was once a veteran who threatened Samsung and Nokia. However, with the development of The Times and the progress of the society, Gionee seems to be standing still. It will always be a leader and will not become a king in the end.
“Gold quality, the world”, “only 998, Gionee Voice King bring home” I believe that many people are familiar with these two slogans. At that time, Gionee was the fastest dark horse in the mobile phone market. It won the offline sales champion from 2006 to 2009 by virtue of its strong connection with agents and the practicality of its products. Especially in 2008, gionee ranked third in the market sales volume, beating Samsung and Nokia, joining the ranks of China’s mobile phone industry giants.
As Gionee gained a foothold at home, it moved into overseas markets. Gionee is expanding its presence in The Indian market in partnership with Micromax, an Indian handset maker. By 2014, Gionee had sold 4 million handsets in The Indian market, more than all Chinese brands combined, making it the sixth largest mobile phone brand in India.
At that time, Gionee, although not in the first echelon ranks, but its influence in the market is seen in everyone’s eyes. It can be said that Gionee was infinitely close to the top tier. But slowly, the market picked up steam. With the emergence of OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi, Meizu, Smartisan and other smart phones, the seemingly calm market has actually been surging.
There is a wonderful saying: in the market, seniors are not to be respected, they are to be surpassed.
Xiaomi, with Internet thinking, has passed through the heavy obstacles of traditional manufacturers to create fan economy, and has developed rapidly in the market with lightning. Launched in 2011, the first new phone entered China’s Top3 mobile phones in just two years. In 2014 and 2015, Xiaomi was firmly on the throne of China’s smart phones. In addition, among the younger generation, OPPO and Vivo are also progressing. In the “appearance level is justice” market, the refined and stylish appearance of mobile phones combined with leading camera and audio technology allowed these “younger generation” to gain a firm foothold in the market and quickly grab more market share, dealing a blow to gionee and other veterans.
OPPO ranked first with 18.2 percent market share, followed by Vivo with 16.5 percent, Apple with 13.8 percent, Huawei with 12 percent, Honor with 7.8 percent, Xiaomi with 6.2 percent, and Gionee with only 3.3 percent, according to the China Mobile Communication Market — December 2017 Express published by Sinotech. Down 0.1% year on year, although the ranking is good, but compared with the top several gionee market share gap is too large. The “younger generation” really surpassed the “older generation” Jin Li.
But this is nothing, the most fatal blow was at the end of last year, Gionee was exposed to a capital shortfall of 10 billion yuan.
Storm, gionee’s battle of life and death
The fracture of capital chain is fatal to an enterprise. Without money, the enterprise cannot continue to go on. After gionee’s capital chain was broken, gionee’s supply chain also collapsed, and the brand reputation accumulated for 16 years was lost overnight.
In fact, Gionee’s decline has already begun. The break of the capital chain is just a prelude to exposing all the problems existing in Gionee.
Apart from China, if any country is Gionee’s main battleground, it must be India. It is understood that India accounts for 60-70% of Gionee’s overseas market share. Gionee had been the king of the Indian market until 2014, ranking roughly second for a Chinese brand. However, the situation began to change after domestic brands such as Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo entered the Indian market in late 2014. In less than two years, Gionee’s ranking dropped from one or two to four or five.
According to Indian market data from market research firm Counterpoint in the first quarter of this year, Xiaomi had a 31 percent market share, Samsung 26 percent and OPPO and Vivo 6 percent each, while gionee, the former king, had a 2-3 percent share. The small market share is in jeopardy after Gionee broke the capital chain. At the end of June, gionee was revealed to have sold its business in India to local player Karbonn Mobile, where its edge is fading.
On the Internet, there are many rumors that gionee may become the next LeEco, and Liu Lirong may be a copy of Jia Yueting. However, gionee’s capital chain was broken because Liu Lirong was too confident and too confident in gionee’s hematopoietic ability.
Compared with other mobile phone brands to expand their business scope, Liu Lirong is more keen on the layout of financial, real estate fields. But gionee can’t keep up with these projects. Especially after gionee’s market share in India gradually decreased, the pressure of corporate capital became more and more severe, which not only led to the accumulation of corporate debt, but also eroded gionee’s supply chain and channel system for many years.
Another reason gionee got to where it is today is that it couldn’t keep up with the market. In November, Gionee launched eight new phones under the banner of “full screen”. Earlier this year, Gionee judged that full-screen smartphones would be the trend in the second half of the year. But to gionee’s surprise, the wind turned out to be much stronger than they had expected. In June, new phones from OPPO and Vivo gave people a taste of what it means to have a full screen.
OPPO and Vivo made a name for themselves by further upgrading their appearance and functionality with a 93% screen share. In addition to OV, xiaomi, Smartisan and Huawei have launched new products this year. Gionee, on the other hand, has made little headway in the domestic mobile phone market except for the launch of a new product last year. No matter in which industry, if there is no action all the time, it will be gradually eliminated by the market, especially in the fierce competition of mobile phone market, gionee without new products is even more dangerous.
Sunken into the jedi can jinli through this life and death disaster?
About 105 million units of smartphones were shipped in China in the second quarter of this year, down 5.9 percent year-on-year, according to IDC’s latest quarterly mobile phone tracking report. Although the shipments have declined, the competition in the market for domestic mobile phones is becoming more and more intense. Under such circumstances, it will be difficult for gionee, which is heavily in debt, to break out of the smartphone market again.
On the one hand, Liu Lirong is putting more resources into areas such as finance and real estate, and is less concerned about expanding his main business. Gionee’s asset-heavy model has greatly increased the pressure on corporate funds. Therefore, what enterprises need to do now is to “take back” the released heart and focus their energy and resources on the main business. In addition, gionee’s asset-heavy model has increased the pressure on corporate capital, but to some extent it now has the advantage of owning its own factories and production lines. That will be the key to gionee’s return to the market after restructuring.
Gionee, on the other hand, gives the impression that he has always been aloof and just trying to get on with his life. Previously, Gionee chairman Liu Lirong once said: “Gionee does not seize the day, only for a long time, will only live longer than anyone else.” To be honest, it’s kind of a lame way to live. And in the competitive market, you do not fight does not mean that others do not fight, your “do not fight” will only bring more harm to themselves, more even will let themselves into despair, Gionee is so at present.
If Gionee wants to change this situation, it needs to turn from “Buddha” to “beast” and attack the market so that it can eat meat. As a mobile phone brand with a history of 16 years, Gionee has certain advantages in technology and production channels, which means that it is not impossible for gionee to launch full-screen smart phones with a larger screen as long as it focuses on technological research and development and keeps innovating products. In addition, 5G phones have entered the countdown stage, the various heroes in the smartphone market have already started to plan for war and stock-up, just waiting for the east wind to strike. Gionee can take this opportunity to speed up the research and development of 5G phones and launch new products with great epochal significance first, which can help Gionee out of the impasse.
In any case, the era is continuous progress, in the smartphone market, no matter how glorious history, no matter how invincible, no matter how bright, if the enterprise does not think for progress, all day only know “gnathe old”, then will eventually usher in a devastating blow. If gionee and other “aging” enterprises want to continue to survive in the market, they need to be prepared to go all out. Only by constantly enhancing their competitiveness in the market, seeing the direction of market development, and constantly upgrading themselves, can gionee survive the crisis brought by the market.
Article/Liu Kuang public number, ID: Liukuang110, this article first kuang Venture capital network