Pepsi to market smartphones and accessories in China only

PepsiCo Inc is pulling the tab of the Chinese smartphone market. But what awaits the Pepsi phone is set to be something bitter than its iconic soda water.

百事公司将涉足中国智能手机市场。不过，外界普遍认为，百事手机绝不会像其标志性的苏打水那般抢手。

The United States beverage and food giant said on Tuesday it is working with a licensing partner to bring a line of mobile phones and accessories to China in the next few months.

美国饮料及食品业巨头百事10月12日透露，正与一家授权企业合作，在未来几个月内向中国市场推出一系列手机及附属产品。

Available in China only, the effort is similar to Pepsi's apparel and accessories licensing campaigns elsewhere.

该公司称，这款手机只面向中国市场，与其它国家推出了服装和配饰等产品一样，属于百事的全球授权计划。

The maker of potato chips, soft drinks and breakfast cereals quickly made it clear it "has no plans to get into the mobile phone manufacturing business" yet.

这家生产薯片、软饮料、早餐麦片的企业随即澄清"并不打算涉足手机制造业"。

"But we are committed to engaging with Chinese consumers at this point of connectivity, and in innovative ways, to grow our brand," it said.

"不过，我们努力与中国消费者加强交流，以创新方式拓展品牌。"百事公司说道。

The first ever smartphone bearing the red-white-blue Pepsi logo, likely to be named Pepsi P1, will be a low-end pamphlet, according to model specifications released by tech website mobipicker.com.

据印度科技网站mobipicker.com曝光的工程机规格数据，百事推出的首部手机或命名为P1，将主打低端市场。这部手机将是首款带有百事红白蓝商标的手机。

Pepsi P1's 5.5-inch screen, 13-megapixel rear camera and 16 GB internal storage place the device in the sizzling 1,000 yuan market where hundreds of models are battling one another.

P1搭载5.5英寸屏幕，1300万像素的后置摄像头，并配备16G内存，将与其他千元机机争夺市场。

It is also unclear how the tech-savvy Chinese buyers might respond to Pepsi's latest move in the country.

然而，中国的科技粉消费者对百事此举会有什么反应，目前尚不可知。

"I feel a little confused about it, I may not buy the phone unless it has some unique features to show," said Chen Yang, a college student in Beijing who prefers carbonated soft drinks made by Pepsi than The Coca-Cola Co.

北京的一名大学生陈阳说道："我一下子也说不上来。除非这手机有些独特功能，我才会考虑购买。"他喜欢喝百事可乐，不喜欢可口可乐。

Nicole Peng, director of Shanghai-based information technology consultancy Canalys China, said it will be difficult for customers in China to receive the marketing messages from Pepsi.

互联网咨询企业易观国际中国区总监彭路平称，百事此举很难在中国消费者中达到营销目的。

"I believe international firms should invest in the areas where consumers can relate the products to the value of their brands … For a soft drink brand, releasing a smartphone does not add much value for consumers," she said.

她说："我认为，跨国公司在投资前，应找准定位，理清消费者眼中的产品与品牌价值间的关系。对百事这样主打软饮料的品牌而言，推出智能手机并不能在消费者中提升品牌价值。"

China is the world's largest smartphone market, but shipments have started to shrink as demand is stagnating, according to research firm International Data Corp. Current smartphone sales are boosted by existing smartphone owners who are looking to replace the devices in use while the number of first-time buyers dropped significantly.

国际数据公司的一项调研发现，虽然中国是全球最大的智能手机市场，但对智能手机的需求量并未增加，销量已开始下滑。目前，购买智能手机的消费者多为老用户，旨在以旧换新，而首次购买智能手机的消费者数量在大幅下跌。

Pepsi has been facing strong headwinds in carbonated soft drinks sales long before the smartphone release.

撇开智能手机不谈，百事公司的饮料销售也早已面临重重危机。

Its carbonated soft drink sales saw a double-digit decline in China last year, the company said in a financial report.

百事的一份财务报告显示，2014年，该公司在中国的碳酸饮料销售业绩不佳，跌幅达两位数。

Jason Yu, general manager at research firm Kantar Worldpanel China, said Chinese consumers are increasingly looking for health and functional benefits to their everyday beverage choice.

市场研究公司凯度中国总经理虞坚认为，如今，中国消费者越来越注重饮品的健康与功能价值。

More price competition in the carbonated soft drink market is foreseeable, and rapid growth of functional drink, juice, premium packaged water and yogurt is also on horizon, Yu said.

虞坚称，碳酸饮料市场的价格大战日渐激烈，这一点毋庸置疑。另外，消费者对功能饮料、健康果汁、高档饮用水和酸奶的需求在快速增加。