The brand of portable Wiko, which presents itself as the only “French enterprise” of mobile phones, said Thursday its passage under the total control of its Chinese shareholder Tinno already super-majority.
“After seven years of partnership, […] Wiko has become a major partner in the global activity with Tinno. For both companies, merge was a natural step in building a strategic partnership even stronger “ , announced the company which is headquartered in Marseille and claiming a place in the ” top 5 “ of manufacturers in Eastern Europe.
In fact, the Chinese manufacturer Tinno, which already held 95% stake Wiko, has acquired the remaining 5% to the founders of the Marseille brand, told AFP a spokesman for Wiko. No impact is expected on the 250 French jobs, and will remain headquartered in Marseille, he assured.
The President of the Chinese group, which claims one billion euros in annual turnover, James Lin, became head of Wiko, becoming chairman of the executive committee. The founder of the company Marseille, Laurent Dahan, minnows telephony that has managed in seven years to make his mark on thirty markets worldwide including France, is meanwhile named “senior vice president” .
Delivering for consumers
“This new step was essential to meet the needs and requirements of our users by offering a wide range of innovative products” , says the French leader in a statement.
Wiko who started in the market in 2013 claims third place on the tricolor smartphone market, relying before the others in the segment of entry phones and mid-range, helped by the arrival on the mobile market Free and subscriptions without phone subsidized at a knockdown price. It has since expanded its offer.
Wiko, who like all mobile manufacturers already subcontracted production to China, claims to have been able to create 250 jobs in France, development of design through auxiliary functions, a total of 500.
