Longcheer Holdings: The Birth and Growth of a Chinese Technology Company

Dr. Du Junhong and his friends founded Longcheer in 2002 in Shanghai and quickly made it into a leading mobile phone design house in the Chinese market. In responding to the fast growth of the mobile phone industry, Longcheer expanded its business into mobile phone manufacturing in 2004. After growing rapidly for 3 years, Longcheer went public on the Singapore stock exchange in 2005 through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Based on its advantages in 2G technology in design and original design and manufacture (ODM), Longcheer, in its post-IPO era, kept exploring opportunities in related fields, such as 3G phone design and manufacturing, mobile internet services and own-brand development. By 2009, it had become one of the largest design houses and manufacturers of mobile telecommunications devices, providing total design solutions and complete handsets for both the domestic and international markets. However, Longcheer was also facing pressure on many fronts, such as the impact of the global financial crisis, the unclear future of the 3G business, and increasingly fierce competition in the mobile phone industry. With an ambitious target of achieving 10 billion RMB sales revenue in 2015 in mind, Du Junhong and his team knew that they would need to craft their future strategy carefully and implement it effectively. This case touches upon 1) the fast changing Chinese mobile phone industry; 2)?innovations in high-technology enterprises facing fast changing contexts; and 3) organizational development issues in fast-growing start-ups.