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HONOR has chalked out an aggressive strategy to expand its presence in the Middle East region and increase its market share by catering to the needs of all segments of the society, its top official says.
Laurance Li, Country Manager at HONOR - GCC, said the leading global technology brand will strengthen its presence in the UAE by setting up three HONOR Experience Stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi this year.
“We are going to inaugurate our first HONOR Experience Store in Dubai next month and it is followed by two more stores opening in the UAE this year,” Li told Khaleej Times during an interview at the launch of HONOR 200 series in the Middle East region.
Li, an industry veteran with 18 years of experience in the mobile phone industry, manages multi-country business activities in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and other states in the region. His career spans a range of critical roles, including front-line channel sales, go-to-market strategies, e-commerce and retail management.
“We want to introduce HONOR Experience stores in the UAE and then other parts of the region to replicate the success of our business model in China. The company is keen to open new experience stores in premium retail destinations of the region,” Li said.
He said HONOR will also strengthen its relationship with its more than 850 retail partners in the region to ensure availability of its products to the GCC consumers. He lauded the role of HONOR’s leading retail partners such as Emax, Jumbo, Sharaf DG, Virgin Megastore, Amazon and noon, among others, and said the company will continue working towards expanding its presence in the GCC.
“In the UAE market share, we have leaped to Top 4 in first quarter, with a year-on-year growth of 105 per cent. Due to robust popularity of innovative flagship products, we are aiming to achieve 10 per cent market share by end of 2024,” he said.
Elaborating, he said HONOR introduced the world’s thinnest and lightest foldable phone Magic V2 in the UAE this year. The flagship device measuring 9.9mm catering to the needs of high-end segment and now the HONOR 200 Series will serve mid-market segment.
“Our aim is to serve every price segment in the market. We have launched various high-end and entry level products, and now we are focusing Gen Z through state-of-the-art AI-powered HONOR 200 series with attractive price range,” he said.
Value for money
Li said smartphone segment is competitive globally and only those brands will win the heart of tech-savvy consumers and buyers who offer value for money products to them.
“HONOR reinforces its position as a frontrunner in technological innovation because it spends heavily in research and development (R&D) to cater to the needs of consumers. We invest 11.5 per cent of our annual revenue on R&D to incorporate latest technologies in our devices,” Li said.
“HONOR is number one technology brand in China and also includes among top four leading global brands due to popularity of its smart devices over the years,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said the company is trying its best to reduce the time gap between the product launch in China and other parts of the world.
“Global launch of consumer devices, simultaneously, is not aligned now because of regulatory issues, privacy and data usage rules as each country/region has its own policy and brands must ensure compliance on local laws. At HONOR we have reduced the gap and hopefully all our products will hit the global markets at the same time when they will be launched in China,” he said.
HONOR 200 Series
Li, who is keen to drive HONOR’s success and expansion across the GCC, said HONOR 200 Series will help attract younger generation who love to play esports with latest technology gadgets and smartphones.
“HONOR 200 Pro, an official smartphone of the Esports World Cup, is a superb smartphone with a unique design, an excellent OLED display, and good battery life with fast charging. Thanks to the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset, there's no shortage of performance in heavy tasks, including e-gaming,” he said.
Portrait photography features
Li said the new flagship device is offering unmatched portrait photography features of the HONOR 200 Pro empowered by AI.
“The tech-savvy buyers can capture unforgettable moments with HONOR triple studio-level 50MP portrait camera set-up. The HONOR AI Portrait Studio offers a dynamic and interactive experience due to our four-layer strategy involving connectivity, cloud AI, users’ interface and availability of key AI features even in offline mode (when WIFI is not available),” he said.
“HONOR 200 Series promise an unforgettable experience that empowers people through innovative and immersive technology. It has a lovely screen, good battery life, fast charging, a versatile camera, and the AI features of HONOR’s flagship, Magic 6 Pro,” Li said.
He said HONOR 200 Series will set new benchmarks in AI portrait photography as both the smartphone variants showcase advanced AI across camera, chipset, display, and user interface, catering to the demands of consumers in the GCC.
“We pin high hopes on HONOR 200 Series and are expected to sell 30 per cent more smartphones in the region this year,” he said.
Software updates
About the software update and security features, he said software updates for HONOR 200 Series will be available for at least four years.
“HONOR will upgrade software to ensure safety of devices as well as privacy of the users. We provide safety patches on monthly basis,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said HONOR 200 Series is compatible with global wireless charging and introduces the revolutionary 100W HONOR Supercharge, a cutting-edge technology that empowers users to fully recharge their devices in just 41 minutes.
“HONOR has been quick to roll AI features into 200 series and this is just the beginning of a new era as more powerful AI-packed smart devices are in the pipeline and will be rolled out in global markets in near future,” Li concluded.
— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com
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