Market research agency IDC released a ranking of global mobile phone shipments. This time, the king of domestic mobile phones has changed its name to a Chinese mobile phone brand that has almost no sales in China, with shipments second only to Samsung, ranking second globally and surpassing Apple as the top domestic mobile phone brand.

IDC's data is a bit special in that it does not distinguish between smartphones and feature phones but counts shipments of mobile phones. As a result, the ranking of domestic mobile phone brands has changed, with Transsion Holdings becoming the new king of domestic mobile phones. However, if ranked solely by smartphone shipments, Transsion Holdings ranks fourth globally.

Transsion Holdings mainly sells its mobile phones in the African market. Over the past decade, it has focused on selling feature phones in Africa, achieving a market share of up to 50% in the African mobile phone market. The combined market share of Samsung and other Chinese mobile phone brands was not enough to surpass Transsion Holdings, demonstrating its dominant position in the African market.

Transsion Holdings' dominance in the African market is attributed to its grasp of the characteristics of the local market, where consumption levels are very low. In 2019, the average price of Transsion Holdings' feature phones sold in Africa was as low as over 60 yuan. Another factor contributing to its success is its camera technology specifically developed for Africans, enabling them to take clearer photos.

As smartphones become more prevalent globally, Africa is also gradually transitioning to smartphones in recent years. Transsion Holdings has capitalized on this trend by promoting its smartphones in the African market, which are still priced very competitively. In 2019, the average price of its smartphones was only over 400 yuan. However, in the past two years, Transsion Holdings has also entered the Middle East and Indian markets, and its smartphone shipments surged by more than 80% in the first quarter of this year, ranking fourth globally in terms of smartphone shipments alone.

Although most of Transsion Holdings' mobile phone sales are low-priced models, low unit prices do not necessarily translate to low profits. Its financial results for the first half of this year showed revenues of 34.56 billion yuan, with a net profit of 2.85 billion yuan and a net profit margin of 8.2%, which is comparable to several domestic mobile phone brands.

Transsion Holdings' achievements refute the previous claim by some domestic mobile phone brands that low-priced phones are not profitable, proving that low-priced phones can still generate significant profits. The key lies in the company's management and operations. In fact, Nokia, the former global mobile phone king, also achieved this, dominating the global mobile phone market for 14 years with its aggressive product strategy and offering phones priced as low as 200 yuan, while maintaining a net profit margin of 10%.

Transsion Holdings' success demonstrates that Chinese mobile phones have strong competitiveness in overseas markets. By seizing opportunities, Chinese mobile phones can enter global markets. Cost is a competitive advantage for both Chinese mobile phones and Chinese manufacturing, allowing them to achieve significant sales even in low-consumption markets like Africa.

Transsion Holdings' success also proves that innovation is the core competitiveness of enterprises. Even affordable products can offer good quality and unique technology. Only with unique technology can competitors find it difficult to imitate, enabling enterprises to maintain a dominant market position. This is highly enlightening for other domestic mobile phone brands.

China has become the global leader in over a dozen industries, and the trend of Chinese brands going global is undeniable. In this context, more Chinese brands are venturing abroad. Transsion Holdings' success serves as a valuable guide for other brands. The global market is vast, even larger than the domestic market, and going global is the key to building stronger Chinese enterprises.