BEIJING,
May 10 -- Sony Ericsson Wednesday won two major mobile device orders in
China, which could help boost the firm's market share in one of the world's most
competitive handset markets.
Sony Ericsson, the world's fourth-largest handset
maker, signed a framework agreement to sell 4 billion yuan worth of handsets to
Shenzen Telling Communications Corp, a Chinese mobile phone distributor.
Under another deal, PTAC, the largest handset
distributor in China, which controls more than 30 percent of the country's
handset distribution network, will purchase 5 million handsets from Sony
Ericsson.
About 60 percent of the 5 million handsets will be
mid-range and low-end, with some models priced at roughly 400 yuan, Pan Zhen,
vice-president of China National Postal and Telecommunications Appliances Corp,
parent of PTAC, told China Daily.
The move marks Sony Ericsson's push into the
entry-level handset market.
"To be one of the top three players (both in China
and globally), we have to compete in this market," said Gunilla Nordstrom,
president of Sony Ericsson China.
London-based Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between
Sweden's Ericsson and Japan's Sony, has long been focusing on expensive handsets
with high-quality music players and cameras, sub-branded by Walkman and
Cybershot.
The strategy has helped the company manage strong
profit margins compared to larger rivals Nokia and Motorola.
In the first quarter of this year Sony Ericsson
launched 10 new handset models, four of which are entry-level handsets.
Nordstrom revealed that Sony Ericsson set up a
research and development team in Beijing to focus on developing entry-level
handset models.
"All the low-end mobile phones sold by Sony Ericsson
will be developed in China," she said.
Emerging markets such as China, India, Russia and
Brazil already provide large revenue streams for leading manufacturers such as
Nokia and Motorola.
In China, which had 481 million mobile phone users as
of March 2007, most newly added subscribers are from rural areas, where
consumers are buying handsets for the first time.
Deals between distributors and retailers are crucial
for handset manufacturers to expand their sales networks in China.
(Source: China Daily)
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