One Year After "Comeback" to Indonesia, Honor Still Faces These Challenges

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - One year after returning (comeback) to Indonesia, smartphone vendor Honor admits it still faces several challenges in rebuilding consumer trust.

One of the biggest challenges they face is not about the products, but rather the market’s perception of the brand’s sustainability in the country.

Aryo Meidianto Aji, Head of Public Relations at PT Trinova Digital Indonesia, the distributor of Honor in Indonesia, said many consumers still question whether Honor is truly back and will last long in Indonesia.

This smartphone brand previously enlivened the domestic mobile phone market in 2018, but gradually withdrew from Indonesia in 2019. After 6 years, Honor finally officially returned to selling mobile phones in Indonesia at the end of February 2025.

To that end, Aryo assures partners and consumers that Honor is serious about building its business in Indonesia.

“Honor is not going anywhere. Honor will be in Indonesia, but transformation certainly takes time,” Aryo stressed.

Instead of aggressively entering the flagship market, Honor currently chooses to focus on the segment deemed most suitable for the Indonesian market’s needs, particularly the entry-level and mid-range classes.

Aryo said many vendors try to enter the premium market even though their consumer base is in the lower segment. According to him, such a strategy is not necessarily effective.

“Sometimes many brands may not focus on their own market. For example, excelling in the lower market but then thinking about the upper market, even though the market share is small,” said Aryo.

“If we are more focused on really targeting devices that are widely liked and bought by consumers first,” he added.

That strategy is implemented, among others, through the Honor X6c and Honor X7d, which target the entry-level and mid-range segments, both featuring durability as the main selling point.

At that price, the Honor X6c focuses on selling a smooth display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, a jumbo 5,300 mAh battery, and IP64 for resistance to dust and water splashes.

This phone has also obtained drop resistance certification (SGS) up to a height of 1.5 metres.