Blackberry is giving up trying to win the hearts and minds of the general consumers, as the company announces its exit from the consumer market amid poor financial results. In Q2 2013, Blackberry made a substantial loss of $950 million, causing it to announce that it would cut 4,500 jobs — which is 40% of the company’s work force.
The exit from the consumer market was mainly down to the poor results of the company’s hero device, the Blackberry Z10. The Z10 has been so poorly received by consumers that Blackberry is left with around $1 billion worth of stock, that it now hopes to shift by substantially cutting the price of the device.
It’s clear that Blackberry may not be with us for much longer, or at least be a shell of its former self — with the company forced to halt trading of its shares in fear that they would plummet after the announcement.
The only hope for Blackberry is that it is acquired by another company, but this list of likely buyers is getting shorter. The company is currently rumoured to be aiming for a November sale, with an auction ensuring that it is sold quickly. It is not yet known if the whole of Blackberry is going to be shifted as one, or if the company is going to be split up into smaller chunks.
Blackberry’s exit from the consumer market doesn’t mean it’s going to stop selling phones, with the company reducing its device portfolio from six devices to around two — with two entry-level and two premium devices. Blackberry hopes that it can court enterprise users and “prosumers” onto its BB10 platform — a platform which has failed to catch on despite its ability to run Android apps.
What do you think of Blackberry’s exit? Do you think it’s the right move or do you think the company has just dug its own grave? Let us know in the comments below.
