The "atypical" path to going global: How does Transsion rewrite the rules with "localized innovation"?

In the first quarter of 2025, the global smartphone market shipments increased by 3% year-on-year. Against the backdrop of a slowing growth rate, "going global for the second time" has become a necessity for many brands. As brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Nubia, and realme intensively launched new overseas products at the MWC (Mobile World Congress), regions such as Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America have gradually become the core battlefields of the new round of global expansion strategy.

Before this trend emerged, a Chinese mobile phone enterprise had already taken the lead in the global expansion track. In recent years, Transsion has always maintained a high - speed growth trend, ranking among the world's top three with shipments of over 200 million units. As one of the earliest gold - diggers in the African mobile phone industry, in 2017, Transsion surpassed Samsung to become the largest mobile phone supplier in the region and has since remained firmly in the first place.

After years of development, Transsion Holdings has built a market map covering 4 billion people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. This seemingly "atypical" globalization path is actually a vivid practice of the "global localization" strategy.

"King of Africa": Vertical deep - cultivation to build a moat

As one of the earliest mobile phone manufacturers to enter the African market, Transsion has a high level of popularity and a stable consumer group there. Although Africa is the "third pole" in the global market and the third - largest global population market after the Chinese mainland and India, with a population in the billions, it is also a fragmented and non - unified market, consisting of 54 countries and thousands of languages.

Since entering the African market, Transsion has ensured the rapid promotion of its products through its self - built channel model. Its strong local sales and R & D teams have ensured that it can respond to market and user needs in a timely manner. At the same time, it established an independent after - sales brand, Carlcare, to ensure the establishment of an after - sales system with thousands of service outlets in Africa.

After opening up the African market, the Transsion brand has continuously focused on the daily work and life scenarios of African consumers. By understanding the preferences and pain points of local users and creating products based on local languages, aesthetics, and living habits, it has won the love of local consumers. This "dominance" is more clearly reflected in the 2024 market data. According to Canalys data, Transsion's shipment share in the African smartphone market reached 51%, with an annual growth rate of 10%. That means for every two smartphones sold in Africa, one is a Transsion phone.

In 2024, the shipments of smartphones in Africa increased by 9% year - on - year, higher than the 7% in the global market, showing market resilience and growth potential. In recent years, domestic mobile phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, realme, and OPPO have gradually increased their efforts in the African market. However, it is still too early to say that Transsion has been greatly impacted.

Zhu Jiatao, the chief analyst at Canalys, said frankly: "Africa is a large market with many fragmented sub - markets with different structures. Currently, manufacturers such as Xiaomi are mainly concentrated in North Africa and South Africa. In Transsion's core market, that is, sub - Saharan Africa, its accumulated channels and brand influence are still very strong. For example, in Nigeria, Xiaomi can achieve a certain market share through store expansion and aggressive pricing strategies, but it has not yet reached the level of shaking Transsion's 50% share."

Huang Zixing, a senior research manager in the Asia - Pacific region at IDC, also said that more than 40% of mobile phone shipments in Africa are still feature phones, which is a market with great growth potential for all manufacturers. Transsion also has a certain user stickiness during the process of African users upgrading from feature phones to smartphones.

Based on its successful experience in the African core market, Transsion is also accelerating its breakthrough in emerging markets such as South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. According to the IDC Global Mobile Phone Quarterly Tracking Report, in 2024, Transsion ranked first in smartphone shipments in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.

What enables Transsion to stand out is its ability to build a "moat". Looking at the global emerging mobile phone markets, they all have great potential, but the needs of different countries and regions are not unified. At this time, Transsion's strong local innovation ability has become the "anchor point" for breakthrough. Its brand - localized technological innovation and localized marketing strategy have further won the favor of consumers in emerging markets.

For example, when the Southeast Asian mobile game market became one of the few incremental battlefields in the world, Infinix, a sub - brand under Transsion Holdings, is breaking through the market gap through a precise localization strategy. This mobile phone brand targeting young consumers has built a game phone category barrier in population - dividend markets such as Indonesia and the Philippines with a combination of strategies.

With the strong rebound of the Southeast Asian smartphone market, Transsion achieved a 16% market share in 2024. Among them, the markets in the Philippines and Indonesia performed the most prominently. Its 37.3% market share in the Philippines is twice that of Realme, a sub - brand of OPPO. This rapid growth is the result of the sub - brand Infinix's precise entry into the game track.

In Latin America, Transsion consolidated its fourth - place position in the Latin American smartphone market with a 40% growth rate, with shipments reaching 12.8 million units. In the Middle East, Transsion ranked second in smartphone shipments, accounting for 17%, with a year - on - year growth of 9%.

This is another solution for going global. Transsion reconstructs the product logic through "technology adaptation" rather than "technology over - powering", continuously consolidating its competitive barriers, making its global expansion path a model.

Expanding the territory: From "adapting to needs" to "defining rules"

Driven by the growth in emerging markets, Transsion's performance achieved steady growth in 2024, with an annual operating income of 68.715 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of over 10%. Although the company's performance fluctuated to some extent in the first quarter of 2025, it was mainly affected by the high base of the previous year's performance and the inventory reduction cycle.

Looking to the future, many research institutions have given the evaluation that "the inflection point is approaching". With the release of new models this year, Transsion's shipments and gross profit margin are expected to recover. A research report from Guojin Securities pointed out that the inventory turnover days of emerging market channels have declined from the peak, and it is expected that the restocking cycle will come in the second quarter. This provides support for Transsion's short - term performance recovery, and the more critical variable lies in the conversion efficiency of its technology investment.

It can also be seen from the financial report that Transsion has always increased its R & D investment, building core capabilities in technological fields such as imaging, AI, charging, and basic experience. In 2024, Transsion's R & D investment increased by 11.55% year - on - year, promoting the upgrade of the three - level R & D system of "basic research - technology R & D - product development".

In the field of imaging technology, Transsion has developed full - skin - tone imaging technology. Combined with its exclusive customized full - skin - tone color card, it can accurately capture and truly present each skin tone and texture, meeting the personalized imaging needs of users with different skin tones and aesthetics in multiple regions of emerging markets. At the same time, it has also introduced functions such as AI video editing and AIGC portrait styling technology to meet users' personalized imaging needs.

In the field of charging technology, Transsion has continuously promoted the intelligent iteration of full - scenario fast charging, researching and developing charging optimization in high - temperature scenarios, magnetic - suction backup battery charging, and travel - scenario optimization to meet users' all - day, all - scenario charging needs. For example, Transsion has developed a passive cooling technology that can coat the mobile phone battery cover with polymer materials to achieve the cooling effect of the whole machine, effectively solving the pain point of mobile phone overheating during gaming for users.

These technological breakthroughs are not isolated but all point to one goal: to reconstruct the smartphone experience of users in emerging markets. While the industry is still competing on parameters and benchmark scores, Transsion has transformed technology into perceptible value. This in - depth transformation and application of technology make its path to the high - end market smoother.

From the perspective of brand positioning, Transsion's three major brands, TECNO, Infinix, and itel, target different market segments. As a high - end brand, TECNO shoulders the heavy responsibility of technological breakthrough and brand upgrading for Transsion Holdings. Through flagship products and cutting - edge technologies, it attracts consumers who pursue the ultimate experience and a high - quality life.

Infinix focuses on the young group, with fashionable designs, innovative technologies, and personalized experiences to meet the diversified and entertainment - oriented needs of young users for smartphones. As a mass - market brand, itel provides high - quality, affordable, and durable products for a large number of basic consumers. This multi - brand collaborative combat model enables Transsion to resist industry cycle fluctuations and capture structural opportunities in the wave of consumption upgrading.

With the advancement of the brand - upgrading strategy, Transsion is steadily moving towards the high - end stage of the global smartphone market with its profound technological accumulation and precise local insights.

Lessons from the long - distance runner: Finding the "first - principles" in the "Third World"

Transsion's rise is not accidental but a result of in - depth and long - term "long - distance running". The secret lies in its profound understanding and practice of the "first - principles" of "rooting in the market rather than conquering it", weaving localization, technological deep - cultivation, and ecological collaboration into a tight net.

Early layout and in - depth cultivation have always been the magic weapons for Transsion's success in the mobile phone market. Currently, Transsion has initially built a diversified business ecosystem of "mobile phones + mobile Internet services + home appliances and digital accessories" in key markets.

In the field of mobile Internet services, Transsion has deeply integrated the usage habits and cultural characteristics of overseas users. Through collaborative innovation with partners such as NetEase and MediaTek, Transsion has incubated star products such as Boomplay, Scooper, and Phoenix, building a localized content ecosystem.

As of now, the monthly active user count of the music software Boomplay has exceeded 94 million, surpassing Spotify and Apple Music to become the leader in the African music streaming market. The secret to its success lies in the "localized content strategy + low - cost service model", which meets the dual needs of African users for local music and international pop music. This combination of hardware and ecosystem helps to further consolidate Transsion's position as the "King of Africa".

In the field of smart hardware, Transsion also practices the logic of "symbiosis". In 2024, it captured a 56% share of the African true wireless stereo (TWS) earphone market. Oraimo, an extended - category brand under Transsion, rose to the 81st place in the list of the "Top 100 Brands Loved by African Consumers" released by African Business magazine in 2024, up 15 places from 2023.

Meanwhile, AI has become the next area of Transsion's layout. Transsion focuses on creating deeply localized "practical AI". It has released TECNO AI and Infinix AI, using AI to enhance scenarios such as imaging, communication, office efficiency, and creativity. It has developed a series of AI - assisted functional applications and continuously iterated to promote the full AI - integration of the system, improving users' mobile experience on smart devices. It also supports some local minority languages in Africa and South Asia, breaking through the limitations of low - resource languages and providing localized intelligent services for local users. Itel, a mass - consumer brand under Transsion, is also constantly exploring in promoting AI popularization. Its new product, CITY 100, supports practical AI services such as intelligent Q&A, real - time translation, photo - based problem - solving, and schedule management, helping mass users enjoy the intelligent experience at a lower threshold.

Currently, Transsion has integrated products such as mobile phones, laptops, smart glasses, and smart wearables, using AI technology to connect multiple terminals and form an ecological closed - loop covering smart office, creative interaction, and efficient life. At the 2025 Mobile World Congress, TECNO, a brand under Transsion, demonstrated an AI - led full - product ecosystem, including the CAMON 40 series of smartphones, the MEGABOOK S14 laptop, and AI Glasses. According to Canalys data, in 2024, Transsion's revenue from extended - category businesses such as digital accessories and mobile Internet increased by 7.25% year - on - year to 4.259 billion yuan. From mobile phone users to "ecosystem users", Transsion's second growth curve has been formed.

Linking the beads into a chain, Transsion has built a closed - loop ecological system centered on user needs and with in - depth collaboration among all links through the chain of localization, channels, management, brand, R & D, supply - chain management, and comprehensive after - sales service. When an enterprise deeply roots itself in the market soil and delivers technological nutrients to the very end of user needs, it can nurture the growth power to break through the fog even in the cycle fluctuations.

This may be exactly why Transsion is worthy of being a model for going global. In today's era of technological globalization, true competitiveness always starts from a profound understanding of "people" and ends with continuous improvement of "technology", which is the embodiment of the business "first - principles".