Own-brand mobile phones

: the case of Vodafone Portugal

Abstract

Handsets portfolio plays a crucial role in operators’ differentiation strategy. Nonetheless it is increasingly harder for operators to differentiate their portfolios since manufactures are less available to negotiate exclusivity agreements. Moreover, the market is dominated by few giants, like Samsung, Apple and Nokia, which reduces operators’ negotiation power with manufacturers. Literature suggests that Private Label market power is lower in categories with more innovation and higher technology costs associated. Still, own-brand handsets are a common practice by major operators in European countries. Particularly, Vodafone has an own-brand handsets program, in force since 2006, making them available in its subsidiaries, namely in Portugal and other partner markets. The main purpose of this research is to understand the strategy regarding own-brand mobile phones of the operator with the most valuable telecoms brand in the world – Vodafone. Moreover, it aims to comprehend the impact of own-brand handsets on consumer buying behavior. It was concluded that own-brands can effectively contribute to differentiate operators’ portfolio and to boost bargaining power with manufacturers. Moreover, concerning the consumers’ perspective, the market study performed revealed that the willingness to buy own-brand handsets is higher in low-end mobile phones. The study also suggested that there is a gap between consumers’ predisposition to buy own-brand handsets and its actual purchase.

Date of Award	7 Feb 2013
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Celeste (Supervisor)