Why are domestic mobile phones selling well overseas, but have they encountered setbacks in Japan? Insiders analyze the truth

However, since the domestic mobile phone market is basically saturated, many mobile phone brands have begun to look abroad and expand their overseas market scale. Many domestic products have gradually developed in Europe, India and Russia. However, the situation is different in the Japanese mobile phone market. So since domestic mobile phones are selling well overseas, why did they encounter setbacks in Japan? People familiar with the matter analyzed the facts.

According to relevant data surveys, in the third quarter of 2020, domestic mobile phone brands did not even account for 5% of the market share in the Japanese mobile phone market. The top five were Apple, Sharp, Samsung, Kyocera and Sony. It is not difficult to find that Apple also accounts for nearly half of the share among these five brands.

Why have domestic mobile phones been completely defeated in the Japanese market?

The reason why domestic mobile phones have such an experience in Japan is closely related to Japan's special market. The reason why Apple phones are popular is mainly because many people will buy contract phones. The so-called contract phones are jointly launched by manufacturers and local operators. Since Apple phones entered the Japanese market in 2009, they have chosen to cooperate with Japanese operators to sell mobile phones. It is precisely because of this sales model that operators and mobile phone sellers are closely tied together.

At the same time, in Japan, if you can save a certain amount of phone bills, the operator will give you a mobile phone for free. It is precisely because of this situation that Apple has a large number of Japanese users. If this continues for a long time, the number of loyal users it will gain will increase.

Of course, the market share of brands such as Sharp, which ranks second, and Sony, which ranks fifth, are almost the same. Let’s take the data from 2019 as an example. Sharp, which ranks second, has an annual sales volume of 3.71 million units, accounting for 12.8% of the market share, while Samsung ranks first, with sales of about 2.32 million units this year, accounting for 8% of the market share. Sony ranks fourth with sales of 2.29 million units, accounting for 7.9% of the market share. Kyocera ranks fifth with sales of 2.17 million units and a market share of 7.5% in Japan.

It is not difficult to see from these data that, except for Apple which occupies nearly half of the market share, the sales of other brands in Japan are very evenly distributed. So why is the development of our country's mobile phone brands in Japan so bumpy?

It is known that domestic mobile phone brands have very impressive sales worldwide and occupy a very high market share, but they have encountered such a situation in Japan. Many people are also very confused and want to find out the reason. It turns out that the three major operators in Japan have also customized the mobile phone system in depth, thus forming a relatively closed mobile phone system. For many consumers, if they want to buy mobile phones of other brands, it is not as simple as imagined. It is precisely this point that has caused the sales of domestic mobile phones in Japan to encounter many obstacles.

In addition, there is another crucial point, which has been mentioned in the previous article. In Japan, the vast majority of consumers use contract phones, which have close relationships with operators. Therefore, for Japanese consumers, if they want to change their phones by themselves, it is troublesome and may require more cumbersome and complicated procedures. For Japanese consumers who like a simple life, they may not have too much time and energy to do these things, so they prefer their own country's mobile phones.

However, in recent years, domestic mobile phone brands have been very determined to enter the Japanese market. In 2018, Huawei ranked fifth in the Japanese mobile phone market. Although it cannot surpass local brands, it has made great breakthroughs compared with the past. In addition, domestic OPPO mobile phones also hope to gain a good market share in the Japanese market. Therefore, it entered the Japanese mobile phone market in 2018. However, due to its positioning of younger consumers, its development has not been as smooth as expected.