Remember the era when Honor phones reigned supreme, celebrated for their exceptional photography? However Honor’s market presence diminished due to operational challenges. But hold onto your excitement, because Honor is poised to make a return in 2024!
Honor, a renowned Chinese smartphone brand, is gearing up for its relaunch into the Indian market with the Honor phones. Through a strategic licensing agreement with a local company, Honor is preparing a strategic course for its comeback. The brand’s ambitious vision also encompasses plans for domestic manufacturing for Honor phones, set to commence in early 2024, as told to Reuters by the CEO.
The backdrop of this comeback lies in operational hurdles that once forced Honor to withdraw temporarily from the Indian market. Fast forward, and a new chapter is going to begin. According to Neil Shah, Vice President at Counterpoint Research, India wasn’t a focal point for Honor until 2020. It was during this year that the brand underwent a significant strategic spin-off, leading to a reevaluation of its strategies.
Honor’s comback was made possible because of the licensing deal with the new local company Honor Tech. Although the specifics remain under wraps, this collaboration involves a transfer of technology and hardware – a necessary step in the brand’s highly anticipated comeback.
Tech enthusiasts and smartphone reviewers can look forward to the launch of three distinct variants of Honor phones in India. The eagerly awaited mid-range Honor series is expected to be launched in the market by September with competitive features and innovative designs.
Honor Tech owned completely by local shareholders will manufacture, sell and provide servicing for Honor-branded smartphones in India.
Madhav Sheth the local company’s CEO said that eventually all Honor phones will be manufactured in India which might mean initially the phones will be imported from another country (probably China).
Sheth recounts the biggest challenge with the government was how a brand can be held accountable here. One might recollect that in the previous year due to border dispute issues both India and China stepped up their economic efforts to decouple from each other due to which Chinese companies started struggling. The Indian government banned several apps and made efforts so that businesses wouldn’t be affected by Chinese takeovers.
Honor is all set to relaunch in the market, poised to rival established companies like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Xiaomi, Motorola, and more.
Sheth said Honor Tech aims to capture at least 5 percent share of India’s smartphone market by sales volumes in 2024, with a goal of at making at least Rs. 10,000 crore ($1.20 billion) in revenue.
