 | |
| Transsion | |
| Formerly | Transsion Technology |
| Company type | Public company |
| SSE: 688036 CSI A100 | |
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
| Founded | 2006 in Hong Kong |
| Founder | George Zhu |
| Headquarters | , China |
Area served |
|
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$9.62 billion (2024) |
| US$777 million (2024) | |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | transsion |
Transsion (Chinese: 传音控股; pinyin: Chuányīn Kònggǔ) is a Chinese manufacturer of mobile phones based in Shenzhen. It was the largest smartphone manufacturer by sales in Africa in 2017, and also sells mobile phones in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Latin America. Its brands include phone brands such as itel, TECNO, Infinix; after-sales service brand Carlcare and accessories brand Oraimo and Syinix. It manufactures phones in China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and recently in India.
History
Transsion Holdings Pvt Ltd was founded as Transsion Technology in Hong Kong in 2006, with a focus on the development, manufacturing, sales, and services of mobile communication products. Transsion entered the African market with its TECNO and itel brands, and started focusing on the African market in July 2008, initially with feature phones.[1] Transsion released its first smartphone in 2014.[2]
Transsion set up its Nigerian subsidiary in June 2008, and had subsidiaries in seven countries in Africa by October that year.[1] Transsion set up a manufacturing plant in Ethiopia in 2011.[3] Transsion entered the Indian market in 2016.[2] The market share of Transsion's smartphone brands in Africa combined surpassed that of Samsung in 2017, making Transsion the largest manufacturer of smartphones for the African market in the fourth quarter of 2017.[4][5] Transsion was also the largest manufacturer of mobile phones in Africa in the first half of 2017.[6] Transsion's 2018 attempt at a reverse takeover failed.[7] In October 2018, Transsion Holdings started producing smartphones in their new manufacturing plant in Bangladesh.[8] Transsion Holdings became a public listed company in September 2019 by listing on the STAR Market section of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.[9]
In Q2 2023, Transsion became one of the top 5 smartphone vendors in the world, shipping 22.7 million smartphones to garner 9% market share.[10]
Operations
Transsion sells mobile phones in Africa, West Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and South America.[6] It operates mobile phone brands TECNO, itel, and Infinix, as well as after-sales support service Carlcare and accessories brand Oraimo and Syinix.[2] Transsion manufactures its phones in China, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.[11] Transsion has after-sales support network in Africa.[3]
In 2021, Transsion held a 48.2% share of the African smartphone market.[12] Transsion's success in the African market has been attributed to tailoring its phones' features to the needs of the African market.[4] Transsion's phones offer a feature that calibrates camera exposures for darker skin tones, allowing face details to be retained.[4][13]: 14 The phones included support for African languages, including Amharic and Swahili.[13]: 14 Tecno was the first major mobile phone brand in Ethiopia to include support for an Amharic keyboard.[3] Other Transsion features designed for use in Africa include multiple SIM slots, long battery life, FM radio, and improvements to help withstand harsh weather.[13]: 14
Transsion manufactures inexpensive mobile phones in Ethiopia, which has been a contributing factor in Ethiopia's high rate of cell phone use.[14]: 229
Transsion's music streaming service Boomplay comes pre-installed in their phones.[12] As of the middle of 2020, Boomplay had 75 million users in Africa.[12]
Transsion is among the fastest growing smartphone brands in India, with a YoY growth of 40% in 2019.[15] It was also the number one brand in India's entry-level smartphone market.[15] Transsion's mobile phones are mostly entry-level to lower middle-range.
References
- ^ a b 韓, 江雪 (24 August 2018). "傳音手機：非洲手機市場的封王之路". PEdaily.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ a b c "「非洲之王」传音：出海手机厂商的另类封王之路". Geekpark (in Chinese). 1 March 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ a b c 陈, 伊凡 (11 November 2018). "坚挺十多年，隐藏在非洲的中国手机巨头". PEdaily.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ a b c Dahir, Abdi Latif (30 August 2018). "A low-profile, Chinese handset maker has taken over Africa's mobile market". Quartz Africa. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
- ^ Manek, Sheila (12 March 2018). "Africa's Smartphone Market Declines Despite Strong Performance of Region's Biggest Markets". IDC. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ a b Hancock, Tom (19 November 2017). "China's Transsion dominates African mobile phone market". Financial Times.
- ^ 石, 飞月 (19 June 2018). "重组失败 传音能否"走出非洲"". Beijing Business Today (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "深圳传音控股股份有限公司". www.transsion.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ "Transsion, maker of TECNO & Infinix smartphones, is now a public listed company". MobiTrends Kenya – Smartphones & Tech News. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ Chenze, Emmanuel (27 July 2023). "Transsion is now one of the world's largest smartphone vendors". Android Kenya. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ 賴, 瑩綺 (21 November 2017). "大陸隱形冠軍 傳音手機 在非洲銷量第1". China Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ a b c Garlick, Jeremy (2024). Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-350-25231-8.
- ^ a b c Foster, Christopher; Gao, Ping; Han, Xia; Heeks, Richard; Jepson, Nicholas; Schindler, Seth; Zhou, Qingna, eds. (2024). "China's Digital Expansion in the Global South: Systemic Literature Review and Future Research Agenda". China's Digital Expansion in the Global South. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-94328-2.
- ^ Yan, Hairong; Sautman, Barry (2024). "China, Ethiopia and the Significance of the Belt and Road Initiative". The China Quarterly (257): 222–247.
- ^ a b Jain, Anshika (24 October 2019). "India Smartphone Shipments Reached a Record-High 49 Million units Defying the Economic Slowdown Trends in Other Sectors". Counterpoint Research. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
