Beyond that classic fight between Samsung and Apple for smartphones, there’s an entire ecosystem from China that we often don't know about here in Brazil. To talk a bit about this, I'm here with Jorge Gloss, who is the marketing director of Jovi Mobile. How are you, Jorge?
Welcome. >> A pleasure, thank you for having me here in the studio with you. >> Jorge, we know that Jovi is, let's say, not a representative, but a partner of Vivo from China, right?
We are Vivo from China here in Brazil. >> And this brand, Vivo, couldn't be used in Brazil because, obviously, there is a big company here called Vivo, right? >> Exactly.
Vivo is one of the biggest in the world in the phone market; we are present in over 60 countries, and when we arrived in Brazil, we had to change our name. That’s where Jovi came from . >> Why Jovi?
Ah, there’s a big context, we had several rounds of research because it’s a very important decision for the global board, but basically, it’s a "joyful vivo. " In English, it’s a Vivo with an optimistic touch, a cool vision. >> Ah, I see.
It ends with Vivo. >> Exactly. >> Well, before talking specifically about your product and your company, I wanted you to give us an overview of the mobile world in China, right?
Because we know there’s a huge dispute between China and the United States. Including, the United States, for competitive reasons, banned China from using some systems like Android. And China ended up having to reinvent its ecosystem, also reinventing ways for Android to be used, even if adapted, right?
But the mobile market in China is a gigantic market, isn't it? >> Yes, it is a gigantic market. Just by the continental size of China alone, it already has an enormous volume of devices.
Just to give you an idea, globally we sell 100 million units a year, and Brazil is a very strategic partner that appears in this context, because China has already reached its population limit, so we need to expand to other places. And Brazil is a key partner in this story. That’s why we launched Jovi here in Brazil on May 29th of last year.
So we have a little over a year of operation. And Brazil is a giant opportunity for us to continue growing globally. That is where Vivo aims for growth, and the focus today is on South America, with Brazil as its main representative.
Well, how do you manage to convince a Brazilian to buy a Jovi phone? What about the operating system? >> Brazilians are already fans of Android, and we use Android as the foundation for our operating system.
We have our own customization, and that has never been a barrier; in fact, it's a convenience. Brazilians use it in a very practical way. >> So, there wasn't any kind of embargo preventing Vivo in China, and now Jovi in Brazil, from using Android?
>> No, none at all. Actually, Google is a great partner of ours for development. >> That is already a big advantage, because there are Chinese companies that cannot use it, right?
>> Well, we have a partnership with the main suppliers in the market, Google included, and our arrival here involves other partners as well. And a curious fact about our arrival is that we are launching a factory here in Brazil, so we are already starting operations with locally produced devices. >> Oh, I see.
And >> that has to do with the choice of the name Jovi that we mentioned at the beginning. So, the entire Brazilian operation is localized. And where is the factory?
>> In Manaus. >> Manaus. How many employees do you have there, more or less?
In Manaus, I can't give you a specific number, but today in Brazil, we have over 1,000 in total, counting both office and field workers. >> Well, I'm very curious about technology , and when Jorge arrived here, I immediately asked him what was different about the phones, whether there were foldable phones or not. And he told me that Jovi's focus here in Brazil, when they arrived, is to offer something exceptional in photography, right, Jorge?
Also, for those curious to know what I have here in my hand, it's our latest launch. This is the X300 Ultra. It's a device that, although it looks like a camera, is designed to delight everyone who has a need for technical photo and video production with its capabilities.
>> Turn it to the side so we can even see its telescopic lens. >> This here is a 400mm lens. When you buy the phone, it already comes as part of the kit; it's detachable, so you can take it off.
>> Actually, if you don't want to use it with the lens, you can do that too. This is his version without the lens as well. It takes incredible photos and videos.
The capability is among the best we have in the world. And we brought it here to Brazil because since we arrived, one of the questions we were asked most was about the X line: when is it coming to Brazil? It arrived , it arrived this August and it’s been a success.
People have been enchanted with the proposal. >> And are sales here in line with what you expected? >> So, we launched last year, on May 29th.
And since then, we can say that we’ve increased our factory production capacity fivefold. So, this year we have a production capacity of 500,000 units. Well, how do you compare the pricing?
Do you also bring competitiveness in this regard compared to brands Brazilians already know? Cell phone purchases are made based on price ranges. So we have devices that belong to practically every range of market offerings.
So, devices that are close to R $ 1,000 in the Y line, up to the most premium devices, like our flagship here, the X300 Ultra. >> How much does this one cost? >> When we launched it, it was released for 20,000, 19,999.
And depending on the offer you find at a retailer or carrier, the price varies a bit. >> I mean, it's a high ticket, right? And you bet on quality to convince the consumer to make this purchase.
When the consumer understands our proposal, the value is understandable; it is a high price, but it makes sense for the product's value proposition. When you compare it to a professional camera, depending on the comparison, it's even cheaper, because they understand this is a substitute for a camera, and our focus is the professional content creator, so they see it as an investment. It's not just an expense, it's not just for leisure.
So, anyone who has the opportunity to visit our social media or our YouTube, Jovi. brasil, can see the capability we have to deliver. Do you intend to launch foldables in Brazil too?
Because that’s the latest craze, right? >> We have been producing foldables globally for quite some time. Today, that is not our main focus.
Our main focus is here on the X line with our flagship. We have it in the Fashion Edition version, which is a more accessible version, but with a very great photo capacity as well. Uh, and this is our focus currently here in Brazil.
>> You don't even intend to import foldables from China, right? >> At this moment, it's not our main focus . >> When you look at the phone industry in China as a whole, do you also feel an appetite from other large companies to come to Brazil?
Is this something that is part of the conversation over in China? >> Certainly. Uh, Brazil is a key market for the entire Chinese industry.
Uh, I think everyone can feel today in their day-to-day lives how many brands and Chinese products they knew two years ago and how many exist today. So, it is indeed a very strong market for every smartphone company, but not just for them, right? For the entire Chinese industry, I have a huge potential market here.
>> How do you see Jovi in Brazil in 5 years? >> Man, that's a tough question. We are arriving here with our sights set on the long term.
We want to be among the top of the market. That's how we are perceived in other markets where we are present; it won't be different here in Brazil. >> What kind of challenge did you encounter here?
>> We have the primary challenge of adapting the brand, because in Brazil it's the only one where we operate as Jovi. So everything we have as Vivo, we have to establish a relationship with the headquarters but adapt it locally. And it's a market that is very different, right?
The Brazilian market with the very relevant presence of retailers and operators is very different from other markets in the world. We are leaders in India, for example, uh in China, and in other Asian markets, and here this market model differs. >> Have you always worked in this mobile phone market?
Because you are the CMO, right, of the brand, a marketing specialist, uh, and have you always worked with mobile phones, is that your corporate trajectory until now? I came from the technology universe and before that from the communication agency universe. So my focus is communication and marketing.
I entered the technology and e-commerce universe. I worked before at Alibaba and with the AliExpress operation here in Brazil. So I have great knowledge of the Chinese universe, so how to build the brand here, how to adapt it locally, what we can bring from there, and what we need to adapt for here.
>> When we talk a bit about production culture in China, what can you tell us, given your experience? The production culture is a bit different than we imagine. The Chinese have an ability to change course very quickly within a long-term plan.
So, I usually say that planning happens in the gerund in China , because it’s never a completed plan , it's about making it happen. It is reinventing itself at every moment, >> always changing the plan, right? Exactly.
>> Well, I spoke here with Jorge Gloss, who is the marketing director at Jovi Mobile. Thank you very much for joining us, Jorge. See you next time.
>> Thank you for the invitation. See you.
