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Published on February 7, 2008

Kuladist Smuthkochorn, managing director of Wireless Device Supply (WDS), said yesterday that the company would work closer with mobile-phone manufacturers, cut business costs and increase its sales channels in order to achieve the targets.

WDS had a 43-per-cent market share in 2007, up from 40 per cent the previous year.

Total new handset sales this year are expected to reach around 8.8 million units worth about Bt35 billion, against 8.4 million last year with a value of Bt40 billion.

He added that the company would shorten the phone inventory period from 35 days to 30 in order to cut costs in that area.

WDS will also be more aggressive in promoting its PhoneOne in-house brand phones to capitalise on the growing recognition of such devices by consumers.

PhoneOne targets sales of 500,000 mobile phones this year worth Bt1.3 billion, up from 150,000 units last year worth Bt400 million.

Kuladist forecast that this year the average handset price would drop 10 per cent from the current Bt4,000, due to intense price competition.

According to a survey by international retail audit house GFK and presented by WDS to the press yesterday, Nokia secured a 64-per-cent share of the 8.4 million new handsets sold last year, i-Mobile had 10 per cent, Samsung 9 per cent, Motorola 7 per cent, Sony-Ericsson 5 per cent and LG 3 per cent.

In 2006, the total sale of new handsets in Thailand was 7.4 million, of which 60 per cent were Nokia phones, 10 per cent Motorola, 9 per cent Samsung, 9 per cent i-Mobile, 6 per cent Sony-Ericsson, 1 per cent LG, and around 6 per cent were other brands.

In 2004, sales of new handsets were 5.9 million units worth Bt44 billion, before rising to 6.5 million units with Bt48 billion in value in 2005.

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation