realme Pakistan’s Country
Director offers insight on the string of tough months the smartphone industry has
endured leaving industry players feeling downcast
After a long and arduous wait, the Government of Pakistan recently
announced that LCs, which had previously only been open for essential goods,
are now open for all goods including non-essential and luxury items. The final
decision to lift the import ban entirely was made in accordance with the final
requirements imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the Country. The
past few months have been plagued with high levels of uncertainty and panic in
the market as smartphone companies struggled to adapt to the restrictive
situation. The industry has seen quite a shake up as a result.
Consumers in the smartphone industry are having to shift from
the premium to mid-segment due to a decrease in buying power caused by the
dollar deficit, rampant taxation, and inflation. Market share in the industry
has also become more widely spread across the different players in the industry
as consumers have started to jump ship between brands seeking better value
propositions. The import ban has also led to the shutdown of smartphone and
automobile assembly plants across the country, which sent ripples of unease
across these industries.
When speaking with Syed Mashood Hassan, Country Director, realme
Pakistan on the situation, he went into details regarding the perseverance of
the realme team and the strategies one should adopt in turbulent times like
these. realme is a Chinese smartphone brand that caters mostly to the interests
of the Pakistani youth segment. Their “Dare to Leap” philosophy is reflective
of youthful values such as being adventurous, taking risks, and bold,
trend-setting behavior. As a result of the current political and economic
conditions, realme has put its focus on sustainability in the short-term. The
tech-democratizer isn’t short-sighted however. In the long term, it aims to get
a larger share of the mid-range category through realme’s stellar number and C
series. During our discussion, Syed Mashood Hassan had some recommendations for
his peers in the smartphone industry for weathering the turbulent phase the
industry is in.
His first recommendation was to shift towards a sustainability
mindset. In the past few months, many local startups failed and some global
companies withdrew or reduced their operations in Pakistan. With this in mind,
focusing on sustainability is of utmost importance to eventually reach
stability. Secondly, he advised his peers to focus on consolidating their
existing key territories instead of expanding further into tier 3 and 4 cities.
Expansion at this time is a highly risky move as it involves high levels of
investment with uncertain returns.
His third recommendation focused on utilizing existing stock to
cover demand. This would be the perfect opportunity to give an extra push to
existing stock lying around and liquefy those assets. His final recommendation
had to do with the retention of key employees. In difficult times companies
tend to let go of whatever team members they can in order to make their
operations more efficient. realme greatly values its employees as it believes
they are the cornerstone to its success. Human resources are extremely valuable
and if let go prematurely can take their talents to a corporation that values
them more.
Hopeful
times are just around the corner as the situation in the smartphone industry
will begin to change now that the Government has lifted restrictions around
imports. This is the time for players in the industry to strengthen their bases
so that they can quickly prosper when conditions in the country start to improve.
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