Peter Chou claims the company didn’t market its products sufficiently last year.
In a year, which saw HTC record its lowest third quarter sales, CEO Peter Chou has admitted that the Taiwanese manufacturer did not do enough to market its products effectively.
The former Android leader experienced a particularly difficult 2012, having launched a series of smartphones that failed to yield sufficient sales to match its huge critical acclaim. As a result, figures from IHS indicate that HTC’s smartphone share dropped from nine per cent to five per cent in 2012, while the company’s marketing campaigns were roundly criticised.
Chou told theWall Street Journal: “The worst for HTC has probably passed. 2013 will not be too bad. Our competitors were too strong and very resourceful, pouring in lots of money into marketing. We haven't done enough on the marketing front.”
HTC has since launched a bid to improve its marketing team with the appointment of former Motorola exec Benjamin Ho in November 2012. And, while Chou remains tight-lipped on the specifics of the firm’s marketing overhaul, he did suggest that the key to success is offering market leading products: "Although we don't have as much money to counter [Samsung and Apple], the most important thing is to have unique products that appeal to consumers."
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