Move over Apple, Samsung, Sony & Nokia. Here Comes China’s Huawei

A great article here for students researching the competitive environment in the consumer electronics industry. Students should certainly be familiar with the strategies of Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Sony and others. But have they heard of Huawei? It looks like they might soon, if Huawei is successful in its objective of grabbing a significant share of the smartphone and tablet markets.

The Observer’s Juliette Garside takes a look at the relatively secretive world of Huawei and analyses whether its global strategy is likely to succeed.

Some key points for students to note include:

- Huawei is privately owned - does that make it easier for it to keep a low profile?

- It has a wide, diversified product portfolio

- A substantial proportion of its revenues are generated by exports; demonstrating that it is already competiting effectively in global markets

- Huawei needs to develop itself as a global brand, not a Chinese brand, in order to change consumer perceptions.

- Huawei is investing heavily in innovation and new product development: 62,000 of its 140,000 staff work in research and development, and it has 23 R&D centres around the world.

- The culture within Huawei is often described as militaristic. Information is shared on a need-to know basis

- Perhaps the greatest threat to the business in the next few years is a problem of leadership - with no obvious succession plan for the founder.