According to Blackberry’s CEO, the company may stop selling
handsets if it continues losing money. The handset and
services company is however trying to expand its corporate
reach with partnerships, acquisitions and investments.
“If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the
handset business,” said John Chen, noting that he had little
time to decide.
handsets if it continues losing money. The handset and
services company is however trying to expand its corporate
reach with partnerships, acquisitions and investments.
“If I cannot make money on handsets, I will not be in the
handset business,” said John Chen, noting that he had little
time to decide.
He however recanted in a blogspot after the interview with
Reuters, insisting that he has no plans of selling off anytime
soon.
“I want to assure customers that I have no intention of
selling off or abandoning this business any time soon. I know
you still love your BlackBerry devices… we will do everything
in our power to continue to rebuild this business,” he added.
“Rest assured, we continue to fight.”
Chen said he believes the company can still make profit,
despite the domination of Samsung and Apple, if it can ship
about 10 million phones a year, but with its biggest
competitors recording greater sales – Apple sold 51 million
iPhones in the last quarter of 2013, Samsung sold 64 million
units- during the same period, Blackberry may soon realise 10
million mobile phones a year is too low to secure the
company’s future.
As it moves to stay afloat, BlackBerry seems to be shifting
focus to the enterprise market from the consumer market, as it
plans for mobile devices for corporate bodies. Also BlackBerry
is confident its latest smartphone operating system,
BlackBerry 10, would improve its fortune, but sales of devices
running on the software has so far been less than impressive.
Africa is a key market for BlackBerry, as many users of the
Candian company’s range of handsets see it as a relatively
better alternative to Android and iPhones, especially in Nigeria
where mobile internet is cheaper on Blackberry.
Blackberry is still the most effective means of
communication…and it is very cheap,” says Jermaine Okpere,
a Doctor in Ibadan, South western Nigeria.
However, with attractive features introduced by Apple and
Samsung, as they continue their rivalry at the top of the
pyramid of Africa’s smartphone market, more Africans are
starting to embrace the iPhone and Samsung’s range of
Galaxy phones.
If Blackberry loses more of its share in the African market,
Chen’s fears may happen after all and the handset maker may
be forced to stop production as its market share globally
continues to dwindle.
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