Sharp, the biggest mobile player in Japan with a 25 per cent market
share in the largely saturated mobile phone market - has announced
plans to enter the Chinese mobile phone market. This comes at a time
when all other Japanese handheld producers are leaving China.
President Mikio Katayama said that his company wants to take advantage of the upcoming Beijing Olympics, and will begin to sell mobile phone as early as June in mainland China. Sharp will focus on high-end mobile telecoms products, targeting affluent consumers in selected cities.
Japan's other mobile phone makers, including NEC and Panasonic, have departed from China, as fierce competition cut their as sales and profits. As we reported in February, Kyocera was the only remaining Japanese mobile phone producer in China, although it too has now decided to leave the market.
In 2009, China's mobile phone market is expected to grow to 200 million units; which is four times the Japanese market. However, there are no numbers available that break down these potential sales in more detail. Japanese media has reported that China is only attractive for "low-priced handsets offering simple voice call functions," which contradicts Sharp's stated new approach.
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Sharp, the biggest mobile player in Japan with a 25 per cent market
share in the largely saturated mobile phone market - has announced
plans to enter the Chinese mobile phone market. This comes at a time
when all other Japanese handheld producers are leaving China.
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