Focus analysis| Honor 2021 new machine release came to an end, it survived the most difficult year

Author | Yuan Silai

Edit | Su Jianxun

The X30 mobile phone has drawn the end to honor's intensive product release in 2021.

This launch has a unique significance, and it is also the first anniversary of the founding of Glory. In the first year after leaving Huawei, Honor temporarily won an initial victory. According to the Canalys report, in the third quarter of domestic smart phone shipments, Honor has entered the top three, reaching 14.2 million units, and the market share rose from 9% in the second quarter to 18%, surpassing Xiaomi.

At the press conference, Zhao Ming called the 211 days after independence a "rush march": released the number of new products that will be released in the past few years, re-established relations with key supply chains such as Qualcomm, and completed channel sorting. Intensive product bombardment, coupled with the generous profits given to the channel, let them quickly return to the card game, becoming another variable in the mobile phone industry in 2021.

Machine sea

The speed at which Honor is releasing new products this year is dizzying. Since the Honor 60 series, Honor has announced that in the future, the digital series will change from one generation per year to two generations a year. Behind this is the consideration of occupying the market and the mind, and it is also to stabilize the military's heart.

Glory just became independent at the beginning of the year, it released the V40, much criticized, is a hasty transition product, soon completed the mission disappeared in the product line, at this time the market for glory is still doubtful, especially in the turbulent period of channels, but also in the next performance of glory, they need to rely on the actual product to prove themselves.

Machine sea tactics are not uncommon in the mobile phone industry, and they are indeed effective. When Samsung was at its most exaggerated, it could release 40 phones a year. Many domestic manufacturers update two generations of products a year, OPPO Reno series, vivo X series, Huawei nova series, the update speed is in half a year. After Xiaomi took the boutique high-end route, it maintained the rhythm of the annual generation, but Redmi's Note will also launch two new products in a year.

In addition to the high-frequency iteration of the main machine, manufacturers will also have a variety of versions of the youth version, SE, Pro, Ultra and so on.

Before independence, Honor already had a fixed product line, including the V series, the digital flagship series, the X series priced in the middle and low end, and the Play series on the main line, each product followed the rhythm of annual new product releases.

The urgency of this year's glory is obvious. The X series priced at 1500-2000 yuan has been sent for 20 and 30 generations, more than 2000 has the Play 5 series, and the digital series Honor 50, which is mainly positioned as the flagship, has been updated less than half a year after the release of the Honor 60, and the two prices are the same. The flagship is updated two generations a year, and there is no precedent in the history of glory.

In the gap between the release of these high-end and low-end models, Honor also launched a high-end product line magic 3, with a price of 4599 yuan all the way up to 6799 yuan.

In fact, the Honor 60 compared to the 50, mainly in the chip, screen some upgrades, although there is not much update, but some of the role of stimulating the market. Industry insiders told 36Kr that honor 50 can have tens of thousands of activations every day.

Glory in huawei's system does not have to worry too much about survival, but the speed of the annual generation obviously cannot make a new brand stand. When the opponents' new products flock to the market one by one, it is also a rational choice for Glory to increase the frequency of new product sales.

But it is clear that the flagship of domestic manufacturers below 6,000 yuan seems to be caught in the strange circle of squeezing toothpaste. In addition to the chip and screen small trouble, there is not much difference between new products and old products. The replacement cycle that has been extended will not be shortened because of these new products. "It turned out that the mobile phone is not very good to use, I want to change, now it is not bad, it is not changed, it is too difficult to make money this year, and it is difficult for all walks of life." A channel provider told 36Kr.

This may be a problem for all manufacturers.

Channels are king

Honor released more new machines, but also to make the channel profitable.

In the Huawei system, Glory's main opponent is Xiaomi, which gives the inherent impression to the outside world and is also known for its e-commerce. However, the basic sales of domestic mobile phones are still offline, and the reason why Glory can quickly start to volume is still largely supported by offline channels.

Glory has also accumulated capital in the past, and at the beginning of their establishment, they have been deeply bound to the channel. The company that acquired Glory is Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology, which is jointly invested and established by Shenzhen Smart City Group and more than 30 Honor agents and distributors. 36Kr has also previously reported that almost all of Glory's provincial packages have participated in the stake. Among the shareholders of Glory, there are powerful national and provincial channels such as Putian Taili, Songlian Technology, China Post and Telecommunications Equipment Group, Tianyin Communications and so on.

In addition to the deep interest binding, Honor's products can indeed make channels earn money.

According to industry insiders told 36Kr, the profit increase of Glory is generally around 17-18%, plus rebates, which is considered rich.

The honor offline uses a narrow channel model, and the single highest profit magic and digital series are mainly distributed to some core channels, stabilizing their position. Large channels will mainly promote high-end shipments because of high profits, forming a positive cycle.

In the more sinking township market, the mid-range X series has become the main force of shipments, and an X30 can bring more than 400 profits, "willing to give profits, good policies" is the main reason for the small channels to flow to glory.

36 Kr screenshots

They also became key players in glory's return to the stage. According to Zhao Ming, at present, 70% of Glory's shipments come from offline. Obviously, in the growth of glory, offline sales have provided the impetus.

Of course, giving in profit means that glory itself will not be too rich. They are in the nascent stage, team expansion, front-end sales need capital, which is also doomed to glory is difficult to be as worry-free as in Huawei. They can't be a company that spends a lot of money, but in the life-and-death situation, surviving is more important.

Glory does have an impact on opponents. After releasing the third quarter earnings report, Xiaomi said that "Honor's focus this year is to restore its original user ownership, and is also returning to its original comfort zone, and the competition between Xiaomi and Honor in the user is not obvious in the short term." However, the fact is that after the absence of Huawei, the high-end is eaten by Apple, and the low-end market left behind is divided by four large factories, at least in the online market, Xiaomi and Glory are indeed fighting closely.

The territory left by the high-end market is not vast. In the third quarter of this year, Apple's sales in China rose by 62%, and it is obvious that the high-end gap left by Huawei is what Apple has taken away.

According to Xiaomi's third-quarter earnings report, their gross profit increased by 4.4% to 12.8%, with nearly 18 million units of mobile phone shipments priced at 3,000 yuan or more in China and 300 euros and above abroad. However, according to the fact that ASP (average selling price) has declined month-on-month, Xiaomi's high-end line actually does not have a price leap, and it is difficult to explore the price range of more than 6,000 held by Apple.

Under the pressure of Apple's airtight air, domestic mobile phone brands do not have much room to play in the high-end market. When Glory stands firm at a price of 2000-4000 yuan, they will inevitably compete with Xiaomi for the sub-high-end market, which is not loose.

When the technology itself loses its luster, the mobile phone market will inevitably bring twilight. This does not mean that there is a backwater pool, at least in the domestic market, the ups and downs between manufacturers have never stopped. At the anniversary of Honor, OPPO also just released its own Find N folding screen mobile phone. When Glory is gradually on the right track, there may be more fierce competition in the domestic mobile phone market next year.