tek apologizes for ZenFone pricing dispute

TAIPEI -- Taiwan's tek (華碩) Computer Inc. apologized yesterday for pricing its low-cost ZenFone smartphone models higher in Taiwan than in China, which has crted negative controversy for the PC vendor over the past week. “We are truly sorry for the inconvenience we have brought to Taiwanese consumers,” tek Chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) told a press briefing in Taipei. “We are not doing well in some aspects and we will take the blame with an open mind.”
tek CEO Jerry Shen (沈振來) admitted that the firm's decision to upgrade ZenFone models for the China market to better hardware specifiions was to take into account the stiff competition from Chinese handset maker Corp.'s new Hongmi Note, a 5.5-inch octa-core smartphone that starts from only 799 Chinese yuan (US$128).
The apology came a week after tek announced its ZenFone line in Taiwan on April 8 with a price tag of NT$4,990 (US$166) for a 5-inch model and NT$6,990 for a 6-inch model.
When the ZenFone models were relsed in China on April 11, however, the Chinese versions were found to be less expensive than the Taiwanese versions by as much as NT$500, drawing criticism from Taiwanese customers who had pre-ordered or purchased the rlier.
tek Chief Financial r David Chang announced Thursday that the company will cut prices and upgrade hardware specifiions for the ZenFone models for the Taiwan market, bringing them in line with the Chinese versions.
Taiwanese customers who are dissatisfied with the compensation offer can refund their orders, Chang said, adding that about 20 percent of the 80,000 pre-ordered ZenFone models have been refunded so far.
tek forecast April 8 that it would sell 5 million smart of the ZenFone series worldwide by the end of 2014 to give its revenue a yr-on-yr boost. The company sold 1.5 million smart last yr, including the PadFone and Fonepad models.
Manufacturing Capacity Boost from May
tek plans to boost its smartphone manufacturing capacity next month to satisfy solid demand for its low-cost ZenFone range, Shen said yesterday.
The monthly worldwide shipments of tek's smart are expected to incrse from 200,000-300,000 units in April to 400,000-500,000 units in May, Shen told a press briefing to address a recent ZenFone pricing controversy.
The manufacturing capacity is estimated to hit a maximum of over 500,000 units in June, with distributors and retailers having alrdy placed huge orders for the popular ZenFone models, he said.
That mns the monthly production scale for May and June will be comparable with the full-yr shipments of 400,000 to 500,000 units of tek's 2013 flagship PadFone models, Shen said.
The company forecast April 8 that it would sell 5 million smart this yr to give its revenue a yr-on-yr boost. The company sold 1.5 million smart last yr, including the PadFone and about 1 million units of the Fonepad, a 7-inch hybrid device with phone and tablet functions.

Source:http://m.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2014/04/18/405620/tek-apologizes.htm