The Xiamen-based company started as a beauty filter app maker. But soon after, Meitu developed its first-ever smartphone called the Meitu Kiss, in 2013, which specialized in enhanced selfie results. Since then, the company has released quite a few smartphones that beautify and improve the selfie features.
Recently, the Chinese selfie app maker announced its annual results for the last year, ending on December 31st, 2018. The yearly report consisted of a detailed analysis of the company’s revenue that met a drastic decline. The Chinese company suffered a net loss of over RMB 1.2 billion (approximately $180 billion). Due to the radical decrement in their sales, the company’s revenue took a hit too and deprecated 37.8% to RMB 2.8 billion (approximately $419 million).
According to the officials, the severe decline was caused primarily by their smartphone business. A relatively flat and non-profiting smartphone segment led to the downfall of the Xiamen-based company. In a more detailed follow-up, Meitu said that approximately RMB 0.5 billion of its net loss was linked to its smartphone activities. This statistic itself is a testament to the failure of the company’s smartphone venture. The company only sold 3.5 million smartphones in its five-year business in the hardware segment.
In an attempt to hold on to the loosened strings, Meitu announced a partnership with Xiaomi in the last November. The partnership included the representation of the future Meitu branded smartphones. Upon the completion of this deal, Meitu will shift its focus back on their primary motive of developing advanced and enhanced techniques to tweak the selfie experience of its users.
IMAGE SOURCE: Meitu
