HTC 2015 Annual Report Download - page 23

Business operations
Business operations
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Business Scope
As committed last year, we have been focusing on smartphones in the aordable and mid to high
tiers, the HTC One A9, for example, was released in October 2015 and was very well-received
across Asia, the US, and Europe. We have also extended our distribution channels beyond tele-
com operators and mobile retail channels into consumer electronics stores, broader technology
outletsaswellasHTC’sowneStores.In2013,weopenedtheHTCeStoreinChina;in2015,we
launchedeStoresinTaiwan,India,theUSandEMEA.
Aside from the aforementioned core smartphone business, we are also actively exploring and
expanding our product portfolios into areas where HTC can deliver premium, quality products
and services to our customers as well as users. Though this takes time, we have started seeing
very positive initial responses.
AtCES2016,weunveiledour2nddevelopereditionofourVRsystem,theHTCVivePre.We
and our partner Valve® have worked with thousands of developers and partners to create VR
content across a wide spectrum of sectors; from gaming and entertainment to health,
automotive, retail and education. We had an ambitious goal of fundamentally changing the way
people communicate and interact with the world – forever. We stand on the precipice of a new
eraandVive™iscreatingaworldwheretheonlylimitishumanimagination.
UAHealthBox™istheworld’srstconnectedtnesssystemthatmeasures,monitors,and
manages the most important drivers of health and fitness – sleep, fitness, activity and nutrition.
TheUAHealthBoxincludesatnessband,heartratemonitorandasmartscalethatallconnect
seamlesslywithUARecord™toprovideinsightsthatempowerindividualstoimprovetheir
health and fitness.
We will continue to challenge the status quo by introducing innovative products that deliver
delightful user experiences. That being said, we will evaluate and invest resources carefully and
wisely. We will continue to stream-line smartphone product lines and optimize cost structure.
We’ll continue to invest in digital marketing and cultivate the HTC value via more focus on
brand and loyalty to grow our business and live up to our brand promise to both consumers and
shareholders. We firmly believe our determination and expertise will continue to help us meet
future challenges and make HTC the first choice among smart device brands.
Business Results
MarketshareisoneoftheKeyPerformanceIndicators(KPI)intheindustry.Accordingtoa
Gartnerreport,HTC’s2015smartphonemarketsharewas1.3%.Competitionisnotonlyerce,
butalsocut-throat;withjust6%separatingnumber3fromnumber19inthecategory.
Besidesthecoresmartphonebusiness,wehavealsoreceivedverypositiveresponsesinour
virtualreality(VR),wearableaswellasotherInternetofThings(IoT)initiatives.Wehavehada
strongstartin2016.AtCES2016alone,HTCreceived36awards.20forHTCVivePreand16for
UAHealthBox™.HTCVivestartedshippingtoconsumersonApril5th,2016,betteryet;wesent
anadditional7,000unitstodevelopers.UAHealthBoxwasavailableinJanuaryintheU.S.on
theHTCandUAwebsites,atUnderArmourBrandHouselocations,andwasscheduletorollout
toadditionalUSretailersaswellasinternationallythroughout2016.Wehopetoseemeaning-
fulrevenueandprotcontributionfromthesenewproductsin2016.AsofDecember31,2015,
HTC’s2015revenuewasatNT$121.7billionwithagrossmarginof18%.
Brand Strategy
While our brand is symbolized by our logo, its true power lies in what it represents: the reso-
nance, meaning, and promise to our customers, our partners and employees. HTC continues to
create a movement by enlisting these constituents, and winning hearts, minds and trust. Our
strategy has been to intensify our focus as a brand that is benefits-based, and rooted in a call to
action as captured in our brand promise.
In2015,werestatedourbrandpromiseasthe‘PursuitofBrilliance’,andreplacedouroldlogo
tagline(‘QuietlyBrilliant’)withthismoredynamic,aspirationalobjective.The‘Pursuitof
Brilliance’servesasamantra,atruismaboutthedeeprespectfortheimportantplacewehold
in our customers’ lives. Our pursuit of brilliance results in the best-designed and technologi-
cally advanced products that enable and empower our customers to amplify and share their
ambitions, talents and skills with others, so they can be more eective, more brilliant in their
own lives. As the best brands do, our brand serves as a mirror to the market and reflects their
desiresinuniqueways.The‘PursuitofBrilliance’isapromisethatHTCwillalwaysempower
our customers to pursue their own brilliance in big and small ways, every day. The emotional
resonance we’ve developed with our customers is demonstrated in our commitment and hard
work, innovating in ways that make them more creative, more connected, more deeply human.
Through consistent and focused brand messaging, we are communicating with singular clarity
of purpose, across our product portfolio.