Student ID No.

100994558

Year: 1

Course Code
MN2306K

Course Tutor:
Dr. Lucy Gill-Simmen

Assignment No.:
1

Degree Title:
BSc Mgt (IB)-17

Question No. & Title:

The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore

Agenda
 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
3. Competitor Analysis
4. Dominant Economic Features
5. Market Space
6. Key Success Factors

1. Executive Summary

Market Value

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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
As per 2019 the total number of smartphone users in Singapore has reached 4.74
million with market value over 2.9 billion USD.

Market Rivalry

The Smartphone Industry in Singapore has been dominated by Apple, Samsung, and
Huawei with over 75% of market share in the last 2 years.

Economy Overview

Covid-19 has depressed the market demand, it was captured in April 2021 the
inflation rate has spikes to 2.1% with Consumer Price Index up by 1.3%.

Technology Overview

Singapore has ranked the most tech-savvy country in the world for the past 3 years, as
of 2019, the mobile phone penetration rate in the country has reached 159.1% with
over 8.4 million mobile subscriptions.

2. Introduction

The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore is focusing on those companies who

manufactures mobile devices with both telephoning and computing function. The
country with not more than 5.7 million population, Singstat (2020), has the
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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
smartphone market value of over 2.9 billion USD, MarketLine (2020) (And in this
report, we will deep dive into the Smartphone Industry in Singapore with analyses
which include Competitor Analysis, Dominant Economic Features, PESTLE and Porter’s
5 Forces and some of the Key Success Factors.

3. Competitor Analysis
3.1 Scope of the industry competition

The Smartphone Industry in Singapore is a very competitive market, based on my

research with information available on 2 of the Largest E-commerce sites in Singapore
- Lazada.sg and Shopee.sg, there are more than 27 brands available locally for the
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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
consumers. These brands offer similar products with different functionalities and
features at different price point.

3.2 Leading Competitors

The industry has been dominated by 3 market leaders with over 75% (Statscounter
GlobalStats, 2021) of market share in the last 2 years, with Apple leading the market
share. Apart from Apple’s iPhone which operates independently with their closed iOS
ecosystems, the rest of the competitors are running on Android, an open-source
operating system, where Samsung and Huawei are leading the Singapore’s market
share as an Android phone maker.

Image Sources from Statcounter GlobalStats

1. Apple

The US firm reported annual revenue of $19.5bn in the Apple Inc Annual Report
(2020) from the rest of Asia-Pacific (Excludes Japan and Greater China Region)
achieving a 10% increment compared to 2019. And The iPhone accounted for
$137.4bn of total 2020 revenue.
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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore

2. Samsung

The Korean firm are known for mobile communication devices and are one of the top
market players in the Singaporean mobile phones industry. The company reported
2.8% gains in their 2020 annual revenue over the year to 236.81 trillion won (212.3
billion U.S. dollars) in 2020, Samsung Business Report (2019).

3. Huawei

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is currently the second largest smartphone manufacturer

in the world with 51.9 million smartphones shipped worldwide in Q3 2020. The firm
recorded annual revenue of $ 75billion (USD) for the 2020 fiscal year for Consumer
Business, Huawei 2020 Annual Report (2020).

4. One Plus

OnePlus Technology Co Ltd is a Chinese tech firm founded in 2014, their first product
was sold over 1 million units. The firm recorded annual revenue of 1.4 billion (USD) for
the 2017 fiscal year, OnePlus Annual Report (2017). With only 7 years of operation,
One Plus has been nominated on as one of the best smartphone makers in the world.

3.3 Competitor strategy pursuit

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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore

Based on my research, there are only a minor gap between the most expensive Apple
iPhone 12 and the least expensive OnePlus 9 among the 4 players. The price
positioning of all 4 of these players positioned their flagship smartphone as a premium
high-end product and are determined to compete using the red ocean strategy.

The key strategies used by Apple are often emphasizing on their Premium Branding
and its unique UI (user interface) and Operating System, the iOS which differentiate
themselves from the rest of their competitors.

For Samsung, market technological innovation and heavy advertising plays a huge part
in Samsung’s success, they have always striven to be the first phone maker to achieve
new technology, in 2020 they launched the World First 5G Smartphone. Samsung was
also ranked No 4 as one of the world largest advertiser in the world with total
spending of 9.7 billion dollars (USD) in 2019. AdAge (2020)

Huawei has the cultural advantage in the Chinese Market worldwide, especially with
76% of Singaporean population are Chinese, it makes it easier for Huawei to target
and communicate with their consumers in the country. Thanks to the blooming China
Film and Media Industry, social media application like TikTok, it is cost-effective for

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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
Huawei to reuse their advertisement which they have been using in China.

OnePlus strategy based on product exclusivity and adaptability; their first product
launch was only available by invitation with minimal spending on advertisement. But
as the company grow, OnePlus had plans to capture more global market, with their
partnership with exclusive brand like McLaren and Hollywood Movie Star Robert
Downey Jr in 2019. (The Verge, 2019)

For more information refer to Appendix 1.

4. Dominant Economic Features

4.1 Market Size
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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore

As per 2019 the total number of smartphone users in Singapore has reached 4.74
million (Statista, 2020) with market value over 2.9 billion USD.

4.2 Growth Rate and Stage

The industry is seeing slow growth in the recent years due to the highly mature
market. As of 2019, the mobile phone penetration rate in the country has reached
159.1% (Data.gov.sg, 2019) with over 8.4 million mobile subscriptions. (IMDA, 2021)

With the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 which has depressed the market demand, in
March 2020 inflation rate has spikes to 2.1% with Consumer Price Index up by 1.3%.
(The Business Times, 2021) Thus, it is expected to see the sales of the smartphone will
fall as consumers are expected to keep hold of their phone for extended periods of
times.

4.3 Relative importance of Economics of Scale

In Purchasing

Companies with strong financial power like Apple, Samsung and Huawei who are also
known as one of the most prosperous organization often have a greater buying power
when it comes to bulk purchasing of raw materials.

In Advertising

In advertising or marketing, Apple, Samsung, and Huawei enjoy the economics of scale
by having the ability to spend millions to run multinational advertising campaign to
reach out to more target consumers in the different segments which can potentially
turn into more revenue.

In Distribution

In distribution, with the advantage of economies of scale all three of the market
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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
leader, Apple, Samsung, and Huawei can be seen saving on operating cost by having
multiple distribution channel in Singapore, leveraging on local electronics retailers,
and partnership with local telco. Apple for example who has only 3 official stores
across the island has managed to be the No 1 Smartphone brand in Singapore.

5. Market Space
5.1. PESTLE Analysis

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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
Political

High quality of governance of Singapore has contributed to the country’s

development. This helps to gain confidence of businesses. (World Bank, 2020)

During the COVID-19 pandemic Singapore Government has issued Stimulus Support
Package of total of $60 billion USD. (Bloomberg,2020) This helps retailers to relieve
some of their operating costs and keeping their business alive.

Economical

Singapore's economy has been ranked the freest in the world. (Heritage.org,2021)
This boosts the confidence of foreign investors like Apple, Samsung, and Huawei to set
up their offices in Singapore.

With the slowing down of the economy, consumers are becoming more money
conscious when it comes to spending on new electronics or upgrading their
smartphones.

Societal

Ageing population with Singapore Low birth rate, by 2030 one in four people in
Singapore will aged over 65 years old (CNA, 2019) this may result in lower demand in
premium smartphone as we can see the trend of the surging of mid-priced
smartphone market in the recent years.

Technology

Singapore has ranked the most tech-savvy country in the world. (International
Business Times, 2020) Most of the smartphone users are highly attached to their
smartphone and concern on the performance of their smartphone. Singaporeans
changes their smartphones as often as every 12 months. (The Straits Times, 2016)

Legal

Tax Incentives by the Singapore Government. Generous incentives and tax breaks for
businesses investing in new and promising industries with commitment to adding new
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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
capabilities in terms of new technology and skillset. (Ministry of Finance, 2021) There
are 80 of the top 100 tech firms in the world have a presence in Singapore. (EDB,
2018)

Environment

Singapore generates 60,000 tonnes of e-waste a year. (Towardszerowaste.gov.sg,

Unknown) The responsibility and awareness of smartphone maker has increased over
the years, Apple for instance has achieved 100% use of renewable energy in its
facilities around the globe.

5.2. Porter’s Forces

Competitors’ rivalry  (Moderate)

The industry been dominated by 3 market leaders with over 75% of market share. But
there are more than 20 smartphone brands available in Singapore online competing
directly with each other’s.

Threat of new entrants (Low)

With the advantage of Economics of Scale, the market leaders are less likely to face
threat. The cost of sourcing, producing, and marketing smartphones are very high,
thus the new entrant who wants to enter the market as a challenger required huge
capital to fund their expenditures.

Buyers’ power  (High)

Consumers have a lot of negotiating power as there are many options available. E-
commerce opens door for more smartphone brands to start a virtual shop in
Singapore.

Suppliers’ power (Moderate)

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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore

The main component of a smartphone is its application processor, with Qualcomm

leading as the main supplier, (Strategy Analytics, 2020) the overall supplier power is
high. But this does not apply to Apple and Huawei as they manufacture their own
processor chipset.

Threat of substitute (Low)

The threat of substitutes in the smartphone industry mainly comes from rival brands,
with Apple’s very own operating system iOS against Androids OS. Switching from
different operating system to the other can be a learning curve for consumers which
often discourage consumers to make the switch.

5.3. Likelihood of competitive forces strengthening/weakening.

For the market leaders, competitive forces are most likely to stay put, as we are not
expecting any major technology breakthrough in the industry in the coming years in
Singapore.

5.4. Attractiveness of the Singapore Smartphone Industry

In overall, as one of the world’s highest penetration rates of smartphones Singapore

Smart phone Industry is still expected to grow as new technologies like 5G, are still
triggering upgrades for consumers.

5.5. Consumer trends and buyer behavior

Demand for lower priced phones have grown further with economic downturn, and
buyer power stays low, this trend is expected to stay until the economy recovered.

Coverage of 5G is expected to boost sales as consumers require to upgrades to

compatible smartphone.

6. Key Success Factors

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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
The key issue we are seeing today in the smartphone industry in Singapore is the
yearly increment of smartphone prices by smartphone manufacturer as a pricing
strategy. The attempt of overcharging or paying for the “brand” will eventually fail in a
long run. With the accessible information from the web, consumers are getting more
savvy and price sensitive.

Customer Experience and Loyalty play as a key success factor. Customers expect more
attention from the Smartphone maker and want their feedback to be heard, to have
something made just for them. OnePlus for example focus heavily on their
community, when they first started, they used to get feedback from their users and
design their mobile phones accordingly to their consumers.

Being able to achieve economies of scale are also one of the key factors to success
and achieve profitability, as production output increases, smartphone maker will also
be able to achieve lower production cost. It is difficult for company like One Plus to
produce top-notch product yet staying competitive in price compared to Apple and
Samsung.

7. References
AdAge, 2020. Marketing Fact Pack 2021. AdAge
[Online] Available at:
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 The Smartphone Industry Analysis in Singapore
https://s3-prod.adage.com/2020-12/
aa_20201221supp_marketingfactpack2021_masterfinal-locked.pdf?
adobe_mc=MCMID%3D09761677087866410851983420545194073583%7CMCAID
%3D2D33621D8507830D-600001072001342E%7CMCORGID
%3D138FFF2554E6E7220A4C98C6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS
%3D1608418383&adobe_mc=MCMID
%3D09761677087866410851983420545194073583%7CMCAID
%3D2D33621D8507830D-600001072001342E%7CMCORGID
%3D138FFF2554E6E7220A4C98C6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1608418383 [Accessed:
05 June 2021].

Data.gov.sg, 2019. Mobile Penetration Rate. Data.gov.sg [Online] Available at:

https://data.gov.sg/dataset/mobile-penetration-rate [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

EDB.gov.sg, 2021. Singapore flexes its standing as Asia's technology capital [Online]
Available at: https://www.edb.gov.sg/en/business-insights/insights/singapore-flexes-
its-standing-as-asias-technology-capital.html [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

ELYSIA TAN, 2021. Singapore's core, headline inflation continues positive trend in April.
The Business Times. [Online] Available at:
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-core-headline-
inflation-continue-positive-trend-in-april [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Heritage.org, 2021.2021 Index of Economic Freedom. [Online] Available at:

https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd. – 2020 Annual Report. [Online] Available at:
https://www.huawei.com/en/annual-report/2020 Huawei Investment & Holding Co.,
Ltd [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Helen Ko ,2019. Commentary: It is high time for a Ministry on Ageing Issues. CNA
[Online] Available at: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/ageing-
issues-ministry-singapore-policy-elderly-seniors-ageing-11782364 [Accessed: 05 June
2021].

Irene Tham, 2016. Singapore's used phone market set for a boom. The Straits Times
[Online] Available at: https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/smartphones/singapores-
used-phone-market-set-for-a-boom [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

IMDA.gov.sg, 2021 Statistic on Telecom Service for 2021 Jan – Jun. IMDA Singapore
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[Online] Available at:
https://www.imda.gov.sg/infocomm-media-landscape/research-and-statistics/
telecommunications/statistics-on-telecom-services/statistic-on-telecom-service-for-
2021-jan [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Investor.apple.com. 2020. Apple Inc. - Annual Report. [Online] Available at:

https://s2.q4cdn.com/470004039/files/doc_financials/2020/ar/_10-K-2020-(As-
Filed).pdf Apple Inc [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Kim, W.C., 2005. Blue ocean strategy: from theory to practice. California management
review, 47(3), pp.105-121.

Lazada Singapore. 2021 [Online] Available at: https://www.lazada.sg/catalog/?

q=smartphone&_keyori=ss&from=input&spm=a2o42.home.search.go.654346b56t875
Q, [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

MOF.gov.sg, 2021. Emerging Stronger with Skilled Workers and Innovative Businesses.
Ministry of Finance. [Online] Available at:
https://www.mof.gov.sg/singaporebudget/budget-speech/d-strengthening-our-social-
compact#Strengthening-Our-Social-Compact [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Michelle Jamrisko, Faris Mokhtar, and Melissa Cheok, 2020. Singapore Adds S$5.1
billion to Stimulus, Boosts Handouts. Bloomberg [Online] Available at:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-06/singapore-pledges-more-
cash-handouts-in-third-stimulus-package [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Marketline.2020, Mobile Phones in Singapore

March 2020 [Online], MarketLine. Available at: https://advantage-marketline-
com.ezproxy01.rhul.ac.uk/Analysis/ViewasPDF/singapore-mobile-phones-95373
[Accessed: 05 June 2021].

OnePlus Technology Co., Ltd – 2017 Annual Report. [Online] Available at:
https://www.oneplus.com/uk/annual-report-2017 OnePlus Technology Co., Ltd
[Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Poulami Nag, 2020. Singapore: The most tech-savvy country in the world.
International Business Times. [Online] Available at:
https://www.ibtimes.sg/singapore-most-tech-savvy-country-world-13756 [Accessed:
05 June 2021].

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Shopee Singapore. 2021 [Online] Available at: https://shopee.sg/search?
keyword=smartphone [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Statcounter GlobalStat. 2021 Mobile Vendor Market Share in Singapore - May 2021
[Online] https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile/singapore/#yearly-
2019-2021-bar Statcounter Global Stats [Accessed: 05 June 2021].
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS Co., Ltd - 2019 Business Report. [Online] Available at:
https://images.samsung.com/is/content/samsung/p5/global/ir/docs/2019_Business_
Report.pdf SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS Co., Ltd [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Statista, 2020. Number of smartphone users in Singapore from 2015 to 2025. Statista
[Online] Available at:
https://www-statista-com.ezproxy01.rhul.ac.uk/statistics/494598/smartphone-users-
in-singapore/ [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Singstat. 2020, Singapore Department of Statistics | Infographic - Singapore

Population [Online], Singstat Available at:
https://www.singstat.gov.sg/modules/infographics/-/media/Files/visualising_data/
infographics/Population/singapore-population21052021.pdf [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Strategy Analytics, 2020. Smartphone application processor (AP) market vendor

revenue share worldwide from 2014 to 2020. Strategy Analytics [Online] Available
at:https://www.statista.com/statistics/233415/global-market-share-of-applications-
processor-suppliers/ [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Towardszerowaste.gov.sg, unknown. Singapore generates about 60,000 tonnes of e-

waste a year. That’s equivalent to discarding about 70 mobile phones per person in
Singapore! This number is expected to increase with greater spending power and new
technologies constantly replacing old ones. [Online] Available at:
https://www.towardszerowaste.gov.sg/ewaste/ [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

Vlad Savov, 2019. OnePlus is paying for Robert Downey Jr. ads instead of waterproof
certification. The Verge [Online] Available at:
https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/16/18627483/robert-downey-jr-oneplus-7pro-ad-
campaign-asia [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

WordBank, 2020 Worldwide Governance Indicators. World Bank. [Online] Available at:
http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/Home/Reports [Accessed: 05 June 2021].

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Appendix 1

Competitive Analysis
  Apple Samsung Huawei OnePlus
Direct Competitors

1. Control
of software
1. Huge market share in
and
the electronics industry.
Operating
2. Cutting Edge Market
Compan System,
2. Retail
Leading Product e.g. 1- Differentiation
1. Young and Creative Company.
2.Loyal Community member,
y strategy.
First 5G / First high end in Hardware.
3. Offering a Flagship Quality phone at
  waterproof phone in the 2-Diverse market
Highlight 3. Product
differentiati
world segment from
a lower price.
https://www.androidauthority.com/onepl
s on
3. Spent heavily on
advertising
low to high end.
us-one-1-5-million-units-sales-627816/
4.Loyal
https://statstic.com/samsu
Community
ng-marketing-expenses/
5.Premium
Branding

Target Mid to High

Diverse market segment
Diverse market
segment from Only High end
Market from low to high end
low to high end

Market
Share in
Singapore 35.5 28.68 12.7 less than 1 %
% ( 2019-
2021 )
-Huge range of
Avoid Price offerin with
Market Wars by different price
Emphasizi point.
Informati ng Your Bold advertising, price -Huawei Mobile
Marketing on Unique diffrentiation ( Premium Services
Creating Buzz with Exclusivity, Less
expenditure on traditional Marketing,
Strategy Value
Proposition
but not the most
expensive )
ecosystem
- Strong
Flagship quality with lower price
/ Focus on partnership with
customer local
experience telecommunicati
ons companies
Mid-High
Pricing range
Low-High range Low-High range Mid range
e-
Commerce
Distributio / Official e-Commerce / Official
e-Commerce /
Official Store /
n Store / Store / Retailer / Telco
Retailer / Telco
E-commerce / Retail
Retailer / Partner
Channels Telco
Partner
Partner

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