BenQ, the emerging mobile phone giant

After reading this interesting story published at the Digitimes I really think the guys read well the figures but forgot soft facts.

When BenQ (which above all is an OMD) decided to buy Siemens mobile phone unit, they were not thinking on striking the European market, but consolidate their position in Asia, marketing their devices with a well known German brand. BenQ didn't buy a business, BenQ bought a brand. Full stop.

BenQ has all it needs for gaining market share to other mobile makers:
a) Experience in China - they market some products and understand it better than any European or American ;
b) Focus on low costs of production - something Siemens lost when started the Xelibri product line;
c) Ddesign winner - as an OMD you need to be good on this, and they are!;
c) Brand recognition - Now with Siemens mobile on board
d) Project focus - added with focus on low cost, they plug and unplug production factories in record times like nobody else. Guess what will happen to the pretty, but expensive factory in Munich?

In the smartphone area they have been testing things around - or been perhaps too unlucky. First with their P30 (that took ages to come out after being announced. When it finally came out the phone it was outdated by its successor) and P31(same interior as the P30 but losing in terms of design). Siemens mobile was not that lucky either, when they decided to make their first Symbian smartphone, Nokia Series 60 proved to be a heck of a platform, in many cases not suited to someone else than Nokia itself. So, I am curious to see what's coming next.

BenQ entered the mobile business recently, has done some losses....but the Taiwanese tiger is just planning its next move very carefully - when they decide its time to market, it will be for real.