Troubled smartphone maker BlackBerry recent announced that it’s considering a major change in ownership. Rumours of a return to private ownership, which will require the company’s management to buy out the company’s shareholders, led to an incredible five percent increase in the struggling company’s share price.
BlackBerry has struggled to remain profitable in recent years as competitors such as Apple, Samsung, and HTC sped ahead with their smartphones. BlackBerry’s focus on business customers and its slow transition to touch-based smartphones cost it many of its loyal customers over the last year, with users rapidly switching to competitors.
The company has since been losing money as failed smartphones such as the Torch – a touchscreen phone designed to compete with the iPhone – failed to make waves in the ultra-competitive smartphone industry. Second quarter figures show that the troubled smartphone maker lost £54 million in its most recent quarter.
BlackBerry’s two most recent creations – the touchscreen-powered Z10 and the more traditional Q10 – have failed to meet expectations after slow sales caused consumers to write them off. The Q10 has, however, been fairly popular with an army of BlackBerry loyalists due to its traditional keypad input system.
By going private, BlackBerry would be able to change its focus to better compete with rivals without worrying about keeping shareholders satisfied. Many public companies face extreme pressure to satisfy shareholders with short-term profit that’s ultimately bad for the company’s long-term health.
The extra time and limited pressure to stick to its proven model may be all that BlackBerry needs to refine its focus. The company shipped over one million Z10 models by the end of March and once dominated the business world, showing it certainly has the know-how and experience to create a successful smartphone.
