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Lead:
On September 22, 2023, Apple's official direct store in Shenzhen Yitian Holiday Plaza ushered in the first day of iPhone 15 series sales, triggering a long queue of hundreds of people to rush to buy. At the same time, Huawei Mate 60 series also officially debuted, setting off fierce competition in the high-end mobile phone market. However, this competition is far more than a contest between mobile phones, it reflects the high tension of the recruitment market of the mobile phone industry chain, and the wage battle is intensifying. This article will take an in-depth look at the current situation of the recruitment market, analyze the competitive landscape between Huawei and Apple, and look forward to the future of the high-end mobile phone market.
Body:
With the first day of sale of the iPhone 15 series of mobile phones, the scene of Shenzhen Yitian Holiday Plaza can be described as hot. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the queue is already endless, they are waiting for the moment the door of Apple's official direct store opens at 8 o'clock, and they can snap up the latest iPhone 15 series new machine. This scene is reminiscent of the grandeur of the queue when Huawei Mate 60 series mobile phones were on pre-sale. In September this year, Huawei and Apple released new machines one after another, and this "double hero competition" of high-end mobile phones has been in full swing.
In order to deeply understand the reality of the industrial chain behind it, the Securities Times reporter embarked on a visit to Foxconn Technology Group Longhua Recruitment Training Center and other places. In Longhua's Foxconn, a temporary worker in Huawei's mobile phone foundry's FIH department, the hourly salary was as high as 26 yuan, far exceeding the 21 yuan of the IDPBG department for Apple's mobile phone foundry. Huawei's southern factory in Songshan Lake, Dongguan, has recently begun large-scale recruitment, and its comprehensive salary and treatment are "far ahead" of Foxconn's temporary workers. This phenomenon clearly reflects the strong return of Huawei mobile phones and the desire for the high-end mobile phone market.
In the recruitment market, recruitment agents compete for suitable candidates. An agent Mei Jie was recruiting employees at the door of Foxconn, and she kept shouting: "Guy, do you have a diploma?" Follow me to the Huawei factory in Dongguan, you go home and get your academic certificate, we have a car to send you directly to the interview. From time to time, loudspeakers came from the entrance of Foxconn, telling people that the guard booth was the only recruitment entrance for regular workers. However, there are also some intermediaries who do not wear work vests, like Sister Mei, standing at the door of Foxconn, competing to "grab employees".
At the same time, the intermediaries who help Huawei factories recruit workers are also looking for applicants at Foxconn's door, which reflects the fierce competition between Huawei and Apple's mobile phone industry chain in the recruitment process. Mei Jie revealed that the Huawei factory in Songshan Lake in Dongguan recently began large-scale recruitment, planning to recruit 2,000 to 3,000 employees, who will participate in the production of Huawei mobile phones, and the salary will be as high as 9,000 yuan per month. However, she also pointed out that Huawei factories have high requirements for candidates, at least high school education, preferably more than three years of mobile phone production experience.
The reporter checked some job search websites and found that the "Huawei of Dongguan Songshan Lake" mentioned by Sister Mei is likely to refer to Huawei's southern factory located in Songshan Lake, Dongguan. Established in 2009, this factory mainly produces mobile phones and 3C products as well as optical communication equipment. Some employees who have joined Huawei's southern factory also confirmed Mei's recruitment information. They said that the food in the canteen here is very good, and they can also go to the European town of Songshan Lake in Dongguan on weekends. This situation shows that Huawei factories are providing more benefits to attract outstanding employees.
At the gate of Foxconn Longhua Recruitment Training Center, there are not only intermediaries who help Huawei recruit, but also intermediaries who bring people into Foxconn. An agent Wang Ge told reporters: "Don't go to the booth to register, there is a randomly assigned department, in my case you can choose the department." He introduced that the highest hourly wage of Foxconn's temporary workers is in the 3W sector, they produce Apple cameras and other products, need to wear dust-proof clothing, the hourly wage is as high as 26 yuan. Recently, however, wages have declined due to an increase in the number of applicants, falling by an average of $1 per day.
Wang Ge stressed: "Don't think that Foxconn's salary will always be so high, in March this year, the minimum wage was only 15 yuan, excluding food and accommodation." Because many people were looking for jobs outside the home at that time, Foxconn only hired a few employees. But recently, as the scale of recruitment has expanded, some departments have stopped hiring, and last week, Foxconn hired more than 10,000 people in a day. "This situation shows that the recruitment market of the mobile phone industry chain is heating up rapidly with the release of new machines."
Huaqiangbei, known as "China's first electronic street", has long set off "gunsmoke". Although the Mate 60 series and iPhone 15 series have not yet been officially sold offline, in the Huaqiangbei market, their mobile phone cases and film products can already be found, and related factories are also stocking up at full firepower. A mobile phone case seller said: "We can't 100% guarantee that these phone cases perfectly match the new iPhone 15, but they are definitely very close, there are already relevant models in the industry chain, and the supply factory is also produced in that proportion." It is too late to wait until the official release of the new machine to produce mobile phone cases. ”
The wholesale price of mobile phone cases is between two yuan and twelve yuan, and they already have small batches of goods arrived, but due to the limited capacity of the factory, it is difficult to supply a large number of wholesals. The seller explained: "I have been ordering since June, and it has been ordered for a month or two now. Their factory has limited machinery and manpower, and some orders need to produce 50,000 at once, and they can't cope with it at all. Usually they will fulfill the orders of some big foreign brands first, and then it is our turn. ”
In a Huawei mobile phone authorized store, the salesperson told reporters that the Huawei Mate 60 series mobile phone is not in stock at present, and it takes about 1 to 2 weeks to deliver after booking, and the price is consistent with the official website. However, in the gray market, due to the tight supply of the market, the Mate 60 series phones tend to be traded at a high price. A scalper from Huaqiangbei said: "My friend bought a Mate 60 Pro for 8,200 yuan two days ago, and now the price has risen to 9,000 yuan before considering changing hands." However, the specific price may fluctuate, depending on the market situation after the official release, if the supply exceeds demand, the premium may be higher. ”
Today, Huawei's mobile phone sales are gradually recovering, which is beginning to challenge Apple's position in the high-end market. However, Apple still maintains a strong position in the global smartphone market, especially at the high end. According to Counterpoint, in the second quarter of 2023, Apple led the way in terms of global smartphone revenue and operating profit, accounting for 45% and 85% share, respectively, a record high.
Although Apple has performed strongly in the global market, in the Chinese market, Huawei is gradually recovering. According to IDC data, in the first half of 2023, Huawei's mobile phone sales returned to the top five in the Chinese market, with a market share of 13%. Especially in the field of high-end machines, Huawei has been biting the top spot with Apple. IDC data shows that in the first half of 2023, Apple accounted for 67% of the mobile phone market above $600 in the Chinese market, while Huawei followed with a 15.6% share, and the two together accounted for more than eighty percent of China's high-end mobile phone market.
With the continuous development of the industrial chain and users' demand for high-quality products, the high-end mobile phone market has gradually become the focus of competition among major mobile phone manufacturers. IDC data shows that despite the slowdown in China's overall smartphone market, the high-end market above $600 remains relatively stable. In the second quarter, the market share of high-end mobile phones over $600 in China reached 23.1%, an increase of 3.1 percentage points over the same period in 2022.
In general, the recruitment market of the mobile phone industry chain is fiercely competitive, and the competition in the high-end mobile phone market is also escalating. Apple and Huawei will continue to compete for share in the high-end market, not only a competition for technology and products, but also a contest for recruitment and supply chain. Over time, the mobile phone market will usher in more challenges and opportunities, and consumers will also benefit from the competition.
Epilogue:
This high-end mobile phone competition between Huawei and Apple is not only a competition between products, but also reflects the fierce competition in China's mobile phone industry chain and the hot recruitment market. Huawei's strong return poses a threat to Apple's market share to some extent, but Apple is still performing strongly in the global market. For mobile phone manufacturers, they not only need to continue to innovate in technology and products, but also need to pay attention to the stability of the recruitment market and supply chain to ensure that production and delivery can proceed smoothly.
From the consumer's point of view, the competition in the high-end mobile phone market will bring more choices and better products, which is a good thing to improve the user experience. In addition, the development of the mobile phone industry chain will also drive the growth of related industries and contribute to economic development.