The market was still in recovery mode when the first phase of lockdown ended due to pandemic but the rising number of cases gave no option to the government but to implement the second phase of lockdown. This caused great losses to small, medium and even large scale industries. We have Pranisha Shrestha, Head Marketing, Huawei Technologies Nepal Co. Pvt. Ltd. to talk about the company's future plans.

How do you see your business in this second phase of the lock-down situation in your sector in Nepal?

With the first phase of lockdown, we have quite well understood even though late, that there will be a big wave in technological development in terms of growing online business, online news portals, online/virtual educations, virtual events, e-commerce, big to small stores/shops going online and catering their customers through deliveries to name few. Also, we can be hopeful for the wider internet reach all over Nepal and all the business to reach nooks and corner of Nepal.

People will perform all of the above activities in their gadgets mostly their smartphones besides (laptop, tablets, PCs.) Moreover, with online education, parents will not hesitate to buy those gadgets for school students as well. Business for smartphones and smart gadgets in Nepal will have a steady market.

How are you planning to run the business during the lock-down and what are the safety protocols?

We will continue to provide our product and service following the safety protocols during and after the lockdown. Some of the measures would be to ramp up the hygiene policies eg, clean every surface and object accurately and regularly with disinfectant. Provide training and informational materials to all staffs, suppliers and encourage frequent handwashing. Offer hand sanitize, keep track of traffic at the store to name few.

Are there any latest offers/schemes in the purchase that you would be offering?

We will update this soon from our official channels.

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Today, President of United States of America Mr. Donald Trump has signed the "Executive Order on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain" which outright bans telecoms from using equipment "designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied, by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary." Although the order doesn't name any countries or companies by name, it's clear that the order is aimed at China and Huawei. The Department of Commerce has added Huawei to its Entity List last week, which bans the company from buying US parts and components from American companies without approval from the US government.

 

 

Recent update in this issue is that Google is ceasing most partnerships with Huawei, and future phones from the company won't have access to the Play Store and other services. Although Google is planning to comply with the U.S. government’s plan to place Huawei on its Entity List, Google using their Android Twitter account today released statement stating current Huawei(maybe Honor as well) devices will continue to have access of services like Playstore and security from Google Play Store.

It is still unclear what will be the impact of this decision to the future of Huawei devices. According to Reuters, Google was forced into suspending business with Huawei that “requires the transfer of hardware and software products.” Due to this “Huawei Technologies will immediately lose access to updates to the Android operating system, and the next version of its smartphones outside of China will also lose access to popular applications and services including the Google Play Store and Gmail app,” Reuters noted.

HiSilicon chip division of Huawei, stated it has “long been ready” for any ban, while Huawei has previously mentioned it has been preparing for six years or more for any ban of Android. 

Taiwanese chip designer MediaTek Inc said on Friday it had applied to the U.S. government for permission to continue supplying China’s Huawei after new U.S. curbs take effect in mid-September amid rising China-U.S. tensions.

The Trump administration in August expanded its curbs on Huawei and banned suppliers from selling chips made using U.S. technology to the Chinese firm without a special licence.

MediaTek, which analysts said could be among the worst affected following the latest curbs, said it will follow related global trade regulations and has applied for the permission to ship to Huawei after Sept. 15.

“MediaTek reiterates its respect for following relevant orders and rules on global trade, and has already applied for permission with the U.S. side in accordance with the rules,” it said in a brief statement, without elaborating.

Huawei declined to comment.

The U.S. move this month closes potential loopholes in its earlier May sanctions that could have let Huawei buy chips using U.S. technology via third parties.

The curbs underscore the growing rift in Sino-U.S. ties as Washington presses governments to squeeze Huawei out, alleging the company would hand over data to Beijing for spying. Huawei denies it spies for China.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said last month it had stopped taking new orders from the Chinese telecommunications and smartphone giant in May and does not plan to ship wafers after Sept. 15.

Source: Reuters

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Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the share of online channel sales in total global smartphone sales is expected to reach 23 per cent this year - a 3 per cent increase from last year, according to a new report. India continues to lead in online sales, with 40 per cent of all smartphones being sold online during Q1 this year. In India.

The online market saw sales rise following the implementation of lockdowns and social distancing measures due to COVID-19. Xiaomi was the leading brand in online channels across India, accounting for 51 per cent of total online sales.

The company saw 67 per cent of its total sales happening online during Q1 2020. In contrast, Vivo sold only 11 per cent of its phones online. The UK recorded 35 per cent and China 30 per cent share of online sales.

"On the other hand, countries with strong offline distribution and carrier control, such as the US, Japan and South Korea, saw relatively low online sales," according to a report by Counterpoint Research.

The US recorded a 14 per cent share of online smartphone sales in 2019, which rose to 17 per cent as Covid-19 started to spread in the country.

"In terms of brands, Apple dominated online sales with 44% share. Its iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Max were the bestsellers in both online and offline channels. Samsung's Galaxy A10e was the No. 3 best-selling model in the online channel," said Yeree Yoon, Research Analyst.

Online smartphone sales in China reached 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2020. JD.com led among online platforms while Huawei smartphones ranked first in both online and offline channels. The top two brands in online were Honor and Xiaomi.

Xiaomi climbed to No1 brand in Nepal for smartphones for the first time in Q1 2020, followed by Samsung and Vivo.

COVID-19 is a global crisis which is also changing the purchasing behaviour of users worldwide. In our view, this change will continue even after the pandemic is over as it may have permanently affected the financial strength of certain distribution channels, for better or worse. Brands leveraging the growth of online will definitely ride the tide this year and next.

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