According to a report from Thomson Reuters, this is the biggest drop the smartphone maker has seen in over two years. HTC’s stock has also dropped almost 30 per cent this year, so far.
At the beginning of June, HTC Corp was set to lay off 1,500 employees as a result of declining sales and market share. The layoffs are expected to be completed by September.
VIVE
Looking at the 2017 annual report, HTC seems to be placing a lot of pressure on VIVE, their VR system.
Magic box arrived. Time for #VR action. Thanks @htcvive pic.twitter.com/ltbNxgmaPT
— Rudy van Buren (@RvBuren) July 5, 2018
“Early in 2018, we defined a new vision for HTC, a vision to unite all teams and businesses around a single direction: VIVE Reality,” reads the report, saying that HTC has “put considerable resources into building a thriving development environment.”
“While keeping a keen eye on expenditure, HTC continues to invest in key technologies that will enable the Company to leapfrog current generation product trends and drive our vision of VIVE Reality.”
What should HTC do?
“At this point, what can HTC do to save itself?” writes C. Scott Brown of Android Authority, noting that HTC’s approach of not aggressively advertising like Apple and Samsung, and a not-very-competitive approach to pricing may have led the company to the position it is in now.
To crawl out of this hole for the moment, Brown writes that HTC must deliver a phone “with terrific consumer value” at a very competitive price, and fast.
