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Manufacturers
March 17, 2017
40,000 Honor 8 devices were sold on Black Friday last year
Honor claims sales of its latest 8 and 6X smartphones helped annual sales at the end of last year grow by more than 200 per cent in Western Europe.
The Chinese manufacturer unveiled the 8 in August last year, whilst the 6X was released at the start of 2017. Honor Western Europe managing director Akin Li (pictured) revealed the growth to Mobile News, but declined to reveal exact shipment numbers for either model.
Beating expectations
However, he confirmed the 8 had exceeded all expectations, whilst the 6X had met targets set by the Chinese budget smartphone company. Honor currently has two other phones on the market alongside the 8 and 6x. They are the 5C and the 7. No shipment figures have been given for the 6X yet.
However, more than 40,000 8 smartphones were sold during Black Friday in November last year. It is the company’s most successful phone in terms of sales, according to Li. The Honor 7 was the previous record breaker having sold more than nine million units.
The company was launched by Huawei at the end of 2013. Two years after launch saw revenues and shipments rise above £4.5 billion and 40 million respectively. Huawei and Honor shipped a combined total of 150 million products last at the end of 2015. Li declined to reveal the company’s current revenue figures.
Li claimed the manufacturer’s social media presence alongside the growth of its Honor Club had also spurred on growth. The company’s marketing for the 8 featured Brookyln Beckham, the son of former international football star David.
Value for money
The Honor Club, a members’ only group which offers exclusive access to events and early handset previews, currently has membership numbers which span into the millions.
Speaking to Mobile News, Li said: “Our phones offer premium features at a very affordable price point. The 8 costs under £319 for example.
“Our customers don’t have to spend more than £600 on a smartphone to get a good features. It’s been our bestselling device yet and it, alongside the 6X, helped increase our annual shipments in Western Europe by 200 per cent at the end of last year.
“Social media has also driven our sales. We have a very young audience so communicating to them through platforms like Twitter and our Honor Club have helped massively. We’re making some changes to the Honor Club.
“I can’t reveal what they are yet, but I’m confident it will drive even further traffic. We have a big year ahead of us.”