[Galaxy S 4 General] BarryH_GEG:
I've said the One's a great effort numerous times. In this thread alone I complimented HTC on the quality of the One's launch s/w and the fact they pulled off decent wireless on an all metal device which I was initially skeptical about. I've also dinged Samsung for the launch issues the SGS4 has experienced.

Since 2010 HTC's launched what, 24 devices? During that time they went from the largest purveyor of Android smartphones including the launch of the first Nexus device to having lost 95% of their market capitalization and are now down to 3% market share. And because of that they don't have the money to spend in order to compete any longer; especially marketing and advertising to promote their products and brand. If anyone thinks a single device no matter how good or successful it is will undo all of that they "need to get a grip." Unlike some, I don't begrudge Samsung their success. HTC, S-E, LG, and Motorola all saw the same opportunity Samsung did in 2010 as iPhone took off and Windows Mobile began to die. Samsung executed better and are now the market leader. Saab, Volvo, and Jaguar are the "HTC" of car companies. They executed poorly against changing market conditions and now Saab is gone, Volvo's owned by the Chinese, and Jaguar's owned by the Indians. And like HTC they all had loyal followings that dwindled as they became less competitive. Companies that are well run, assess the market's needs correctly, execute properly, and recover quickly from mistakes are rewarded. Companies that don't fall by the wayside. I have no pity for HTC as Samsung didn't put them in their current position it was done by their own hand.

Perhaps this is why...

Taiwan’s HTC: not so brilliant, but management is resilient

Apr 11, 2013 4:03pm by Sarah Mishkin

What makes HTC different from all the other struggling tech companies around these days?

Despite its falling sales, management at the Taiwanese smartphone maker has not been shaken up. The same chief executive has held the job for more than six years and the chairwoman has shot down local reports suggesting rifts in the leadership. That sets it apart from its peers, including Blackberry, Nokia — even Apple. So why have top management kept their jobs despite recent performance including a 98 per cent fall in profits in the first quarter?

For starters, it helps that they founded the company.

Current chairwoman Cher Wang, chief executive Peter Chou, and former CEO and co-founder HT Cho all worked together to launch HTC in 1997. They’ve been with it as it rose from contract manufacture to becoming a leading Android brand, and they’ve stayed on board as it has fallen to its current struggle against dwindling sales and major production delays to its latest flagship phone, the HTC One.

True, some senior changes have happened. The role of chief financial office has changed hands multiple times, most recently when Chialin Chang joined a year ago from Goldman Sachs. HTC also hired Ben Ho from a local telco as chief marketing officer late last year.

But those changes are minor compares to what has happend at its competitors. Nokia in 2010 brought in current CEO Stephen Elop — who famously compared his new employer to a burning oil rig — to help the company better compete in smartphones. Apple pushed out its head of iOS software after the launch of Apple’s much-ridiculed Maps app. Blackberry’s founder recently quit, after he and his co-founder had ceded their shared role of chief executives to in January 2012 to a newcomer.

Chou’s comparative longevity, says analyst Birdy Lu at Daiwa in Taipei, is partially because he is still respected as a manager who knows the company inside out.

There’s also the issue of there being no obvious replacements. A candidate would need a deep background in the mobile market and be able to manage the internal culture of the company, which is based in Taiwan and, unlike its peers, still does most of its own manufacturing.

“Peter Chou is the only one who can organize everything… aside from him, other people don’t really have that reputation,” said Lu.

The lack of a shakeup is also, analysts say, partially down to Taiwanese business culture. A relative dearth of activist investors and the prevalence of retail investors mean few companies face pressure for management change or attempts at hostile takeovers, said Alex Lee, an investor relations specialist.

HTC is, after all, not the only company facing problems. Sales have fallen at many of Taiwan’s PC brands and other tech manufacturers, and few have seen management changes.

“It’s really not a good culture because a lot of investors say that HTC should see some big change in management or someone should be responsible for this really bad performance,” said one analyst in Taipei.

But, says the analyst, the only part of Taiwanese society with a culture of frequently changing leadership is more of a cautionary example than a model to follow.

In the government, it’s almost de rigeur for presidents to frequently replace the premier — the current president is on his fourth in five years — and for ministers to quit when they are seen to have failed. Yet the president’s approval rating has fallen below 15 per cent, a record low, and the administration is widely seen as too sclerotic to push through needed reforms.

“If companies in Taiwan were run like the government is now, probably they would be just even worse, so I prefer how the Taiwanese companies are run now,” said the analyst.