IUNI, a sub-brand of Gionee, after two years, three devices and a promising start, has finally filed for bankruptcy. This sudden death of another Chinese company, despite the fact that we could’ve guessed it coming from miles away, it’s still painful to see it happen.
IUNI, appeared in the market the same period with OnePlus. The company has been struggling for quite a while now to remain alive. Managed to deliver only three smartphones in these 2 years, IUNI U2, U3 and N1. While the mobiles were not bad, they never enjoyed much recognition and were often overshadowed by the competition.
Some months ago there where some rumors that the company is having some troubles, which only recently we learned for. In an official statement, Shenzhen Hing Wah Building Pericom Technology Co. Ltd., the official parent company of IUNI, blaming the recent industry downturn, the internal discord among shareholders, the management mistakes and other problems, announced that the company has declared bankruptcy.
If you are a supplier, IUNI has 2 options for you: 1. cash settlement at 50% discount 2. getting back the unsold smartphones at a cost.
The irony is that Gionee is going to release M6 and M6+ in Beijing tomorrow.
The shut down of IUNI shows that there is a harsh market out there and if you don’t play your cards properly the cutthroat Chinese smartphone market will cut you down whether you’re just a small startup or a larger company’s sub-brand.
So, if you are a IUNI users, sorry for the bad news. At least are you satisfied from your device?