HTC shuts operations in Brazil

In what may well be the official word, HTC has confirmed to AndroidPIT that they will be completely moving out of the Brazilian market. The report quotes an HTC spokesperson in Brazil as saying, “After analyzing the sales numbers, we have decided to pull out of the Brazillian market.” AndroidPIT reported that HTC will be pulling the shutters down completely on all their operations in Brazil and will also be laying off dozens of their workers in the process. The company has reportedly also stopped the wholesale of their devices with immediate effect, but will, however, continue to serve existing customers thorugh replacements and repairs.

This development may mean - If the report is to be believed - that the new HTC One line will not be launching in Brazil at all. The report states, “HTC has been losing market share for years since they stopped producing phones in Brazil. The company faced tough competition from Samsung and Nokia, especially among upper-tier smartphone shoppers.”

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To move out of Brazil..

The company was recently in the news when Chief Executive Peter Chou said in an interview to Wall Street Journal that HTC won’t be venturing into the low-end smartphone segment in the near future, and will instead focus only on catering to the medium and high-end smartphone segments. He stated that the company doesn’t want to destroy their brand image and they insist on using better materials to make better products, thereby offering premium experiences. He also maintained that the company won’t be selling “cheap, cheap phones” in a bid to improve shipments. The same interview had Chou further revealing that the company plans to improve its marketing across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and will also consider making acquisitions in the areas of software technology and marketing.

The company’s decision to move out of the South American country will surely come as a shock to many, since it has been emerging as a strong market for smartphones. According to this report, in fact, Brazil only recently passed Germany and France in the number of smartphones, with over 27 million owners. The company’s ambitions in the U.S, a crucial market, also took a beating when it was forced to withdraw its appeal in its lawsuit against Apple. At that juncture, HTC’s Chairwoman, Cher Wang, told reporters, “Apple is a company with ‘big muscle’ and is famous worldwide. In the United States particularly, it will be able to stop us by all means. This is our challenge.”