TCL W989 4.0-inch smartphone (around RMB1, 000) - TodayIR.com (pressrelease)

TCL Communication's Handsets and Other Product Shipments
Continued to Grow in December 2011
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TCL W989 4.0-inch smartphone (around RMB1, 000)
has been successfully selected by China Unicom

(HONG KONG, 9 Jan 2012) - TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited (“TCL Communication” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries referred to as the “Group”; HKSE stock code: 02618) today announced the unaudited shipment figures for its handsets and other products in December and for the year 2011.

In December 2011, the Group’s handsets and other products sales totaled 4,468,599 units, which included sales of smartphones, accounting for 273,506 units. Meanwhile, 3,315,766 units were sold in overseas markets, and 1,152,833 units were sold in the PRC, representing a remarkable year-on-year increase of 954%. For the year 2011, the cumulative sales volume of handsets and other products rose 20% year-on-year to approximately 44 million units, with 39 million units were sold in overseas markets, representing an increase of 13%, and 5 million units were sold to China market, representing an increase of 139%.

Backed by the Group’s continued efforts in expanding into new and high-potential markets, together with its effective “Step-up” product strategy and the successes of the Group’s brand building efforts, the Group was able to sustain growth momentum in sales volume and achieved satisfactory performance amid the fluctuating global economy in the previous year.

As the Group continuously launches new products to strengthen and enhance its product portfolio for smartphones, the Group has established its initial good reputation and feedback in China’s smartphone market. To further enhance its overall sales volume and average selling price, the Group will continue to step up its efforts in product-mix optimization and the development of higher-margin smartphones with advanced features in the near future.

On 1 December 2011, in order to strengthen its position in China’s smartphone market, the Group opened its first smartphone store at China Plaza, Guangzhou. The smartphone store symbolizes the Group’s determination in expanding its smartphone market in China and marks a new phase of rapid growth in the Group’s smartphone sales in the country.

To cope with market demand, the Group will open more smartphone stores and experience terminal stores in other large cities in the future. The Group’s target in year 2012 is to establish 10,000 core outlets, a marketing team consisting of 10,000 employees, 3,000 open experience terminal stores and 300 TCL smart cloud phone franchises in China.

On 20 December 2011, the Group also held a launching ceremony for its cloud product in Shanghai, in which the Group will launch a total of 12 new cloud products, including 10 cloud smartphones and two tablets in 2012. During the ceremony, the TCL A998 smartphone, which incorporates a range of Sohu applications, has become the highlight among the new products.

Offering a wide range of popular Sohu mobile internet applications such as Sogou map, Sogou input method, Sohu Paike, Sohu Weibo and Sohu news, TCL A998 symbolizes the Group’s close cooperation with its strategic partners including Sohu, Sina, Netease and Baidu.

Meanwhile, the Group also announced the strategic positioning of its cloud smartphones during the ceremony. Leveraging its strong global resources and research & development capabilities, the Group will incorporate telecommunication technology which features mobile internet resources to offer its customers with trendy, innovative, and personalized cloud smart products that enhance the user experience.

Meanwhile, the Group continued to foster the cooperation with telecommunications operators. In China Unicom’s launching ceremony for new 4.0 series products on December 26, a total of 8 smartphones (around RMB1, 000) with 4.0-inch display were launched, and the Group’s TCL W989 smartphone has been successfully selected. Through the launch of competitive cloud smartphones and its effective business model, the Group will continue to consolidate its leading position in China’s smartphone market.

Looking ahead to 2012, China will be an important strategic market for the Group. To enhance the competitiveness of its smartphones and other products, the Group will continue to devote more resources to research and development, as well as market expansion and brand development. The Group will also continue to deepen its cooperation with distributors and operators and to speed up the development of its terminals and the expansion of its marketing force.