Gree Electric, one of China’s largest air conditioner makers, is reportedly disbanding its smartphone division after seven years as consumers cut back on their electronics purchases. At its peak, the core smartphone division employed 100 people in Shenzhen, according to news site Jiemian.
Responding to questions about the division's closure, Gree said that research and development of Gree smartphones is "still ongoing."
Gree announced its smartphone ambitions in 2015. At the time, Chairwoman Dong Mingzhu, one of China’s most successful businesswomen, claimed that Gree would “easily surpass” Xiaomi in the mobile market.
However, Gree phones caused controversy when they were launched because the opening image when starting up the phone was a portrait of Ms. Dong. This leader also boasted at a shareholder meeting in June 2022 that Gree smartphones were as good as Apple's iPhone.
Still, Gree smartphones remain unpopular and lag far behind China’s most popular brands, such as Oppo, Vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi. The website that links to Gree’s products is no longer accessible, and the main page lists only two smartphone models. Gree has not updated its smartphone division’s WeChat account since April 2020, and it did not mention its phone business in its 2022 annual report.
Rumors of Gree’s smartphone unit closing come amid a tumultuous Chinese mobile market. Domestic mobile phone shipments fell 11% in the first quarter, the lowest in a decade, according to research firm Canalys, which reported that just 67.6 million smartphones were shipped.
Another report from Counterpoint last month also estimated that Chinese smartphone sales fell 5% in the first three months of the year, to their lowest level since 2014.
While China’s post-Covid-19 economy has shown signs of recovery, consumer spending has yet to pick up enough to spur smartphone sales, according to analysts at Canalys. The pandemic has affected consumer behavior in the medium to long term, with consumers tending to buy only essential items and services.
According to IDC, Oppo is the number one smartphone maker in China with a 19.6% market share, but Canalys says that title belongs to Apple with a 20% market share. In February, Apple reduced the price of the iPhone 14 to stimulate demand.
The global smartphone market is also struggling as users are less willing to upgrade. Global smartphone sales fell 13% in the first quarter to 269.8 million units, according to Canalys. Samsung and Apple maintained their top two positions with a combined market share of 43%. Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo completed the top five with a combined market share of 29%.
(According to SCMP)
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