It is no secret that HTC has been struggling of late. It just recorded its first operational loss since going public back in 2002 and many have been calling for the company’s CEO, Peter Chou, to step down. A report today may not satisfy those calls but it does show that HTC is ready to try something a little different to turn its fortunes around. According to The Financial Times, Peter Chou has handed over some operational responsibilities to the company’s chairman and co-founder Cher Wang in what is called a temporary move. He will now focus on product development.
Speaking to The Financial Times, Chou said, “I have become very focused in the past couple of months. Before that I was too busy. I took on too many things. I need to be more focused on innovation and [the] product portfolio.”
HTC has found critical success with the HTC One but commercial success has been more elusive. Supply chain issues hampered initial availability and HTC (like many other competitors) has struggled against industry giants Apple and Samsung. Reports have also suggested that the HTC One mini has not been selling well (albeit it appears that the whole ‘mini’ movement is struggling).
The latest Gartner research shows that HTC, once a top five global handset manufacturer, has now slipped out of the top 10. Canalys adds that its market share has dropped from a high of 11.1 percent in 2011 to 2.6 percent.
As for Wang, she is now spending six days at HTC whereas she was there only two days before taking on the additional responsibilities. Duties she picked up include sales, marketing and supplier relationships.
Source : The Financial Times