The mobile phone market of Egypt has seen a huge positive impact over the years as in 2018, the shipments to Egypt were 14.4 million units in total. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) insights, there was a 20.6% decline in mobile shipments to Egypt in 2017 but there has been a 7.5% increase year on year increase in 2018.

The number of mobile phone users has consistently grown in the regions and the number reached 27.9 million in 2019, whereas in 2018 the total mobile users in Egypt were 15.8 million and 23.6 million in 2017.

The latest smartphone in Egypt has made its mark in the market and among the consumers. Many leading companies like Oppo, Xiaomi, and Honor saw fast growth in the region over the years. At the end of 2018, Huawei, the parent company of Honor witnessed the number one spot for total shipments in Egypt. At the beginning of the year, the ranking was overpowered by the technology giant, Samsung.

Almost all leading mobile brands are providing their products in Egypt, from Samsung to Huawei. Some of the companies are locally producing mobile phones and they are also giving tough competition to the international brands in Egypt.

Honor, a sub-brand of China’s one of the largest smartphone brands, Huawei planned to take up 5% of the total smartphone sales in Egypt by the end of 2019. The company entered the Egyptian market place last year but with huge hopes of providing the best smartphones in Egypt.

The vice president of Honor in the Middle East and North Africa, Chris Sun Bai gong said there is a huge potential in the Egyptian market to grow as a smartphone brand. Stats also show that the smartphone sector in Egypt has grown by 22%. With the increase in demand, there is a huge chance for mobile brands to grow and mark their presence with the latest smartphones in Egypt.

The Competitive Smartphone Market

Currently, 26 brands are working in Egypt which could give Honor a tough competition therefore it might not be easy to make their place in the market. In this regard, Honor said they have several advantages over others like their quality and development is what gives them a distinctive position. They consider these two points as something that can help them spread throughout the world.

Honors claim that they communicate with their consumers and how they target them is very distinctive than the rest of the competitors. The brand is new and young and thus is focusing the young consumers. The interaction is with the young lot, which is more retable to the company.

Other than this, Honor smartphone shave made a partnership with Etisalat, only distributer in Egypt that is acting as the agent of Honor mobile in Egypt. This again gives it an advantage over competitors to reach the right target through the top distributors. It not only deals through outlets, the traditional way but also has an association with several e-commerce sites. It provides convenience to consumers to get the product easily. As many people have been looking for the 8C price in Egypt, and they can find all the latest information online.

The company planned to place their products on 1,000 different locations in the first three months of their entry into the Egyptian market place. And by the time they will complete their year in Egypt, they expect to be available on 2,500 points in the region.

The target of Honor Brand

When the regional vice president of Honor asked about their yearly target of selling smartphones, he said they do not have any specific target set, however, the company plans to take over the 5% of the mobile market in the first year of operations in Egypt. In a month, 1 million mobiles are sold out in Egypt, therefore according to this, Honor is expecting to sell 50,000 units monthly to reach the target of taking up the 5% market.

It is generally considered that the mobile market is shrinking with time but research has shown that in 2019, a 22% increase was witnessed in the sales of Smartphones. There is a strong opportunity to grow in the Egyptian market.

The market of Egypt is not yet saturated with smartphones but the sales could decline after a while when the smartphones will increase in the region. Honor plans to stay as a different brand than Huawei and build their own ground everywhere. As the main target of the smartphone manufacturer is youth, thus the company aims to target their audiences through digital channels. More than the traditional means of advertising the digital channels proves to be more effective especially when it comes to targeting youth. Therefore the main selling point and advertising focus will be on a digital medium.

The Future of Smartphones Industry

Last year, Honor had 85% of the sales in China only whereas only 15% of the sale was in the rest of the countries. The company plans to increase its foreign market by reducing its sales percentage in China, limiting it to 50% and focusing on selling the other 50% worldwide.

In 2020, the company plans to be among the top five smartphone brands and in the next two years the company is to be among the top three.

At times, retailers manipulate the prices of smartphones which may affect the pricing image of the company. Honor, having the advantage of an agent in Egypt is ready to deal with such unexpected circumstances.

When asked about when the company plans to manufacture in Egypt, there was no definite answer to it Honor said it is not yet decided, as they are new to the market and it depends on the response they receive from the local market before deciding whether they should start manufacturing locally or not.

Conclusive remarks:

Honor is making its own way with unique and rich-featured smartphone options. The best thing is the quality-price combination for all kinds of customers.