We’ve spoken recently about the mounting pressure Asus is facing internally on the ZenFone success. So for the company this is good news. Selling 12,000 ZenFone 5 units in the first 24 hours in Taiwan exceeded their expectations. More than just Taiwan, early indicators out of the Philippines were positive as well with their stocks selling out in 45 minutes. Indonesia had the first opportunity to buy the ZenFone Max Pro M1 through a Lazada flash sale which saw units sell out in minutes. It’s unclear what stock levels were available for the Indonesia Lazada sale, but another upcoming sale is days away as well. India is opening pre orders on May 3rd for the ZenFone Max Pro and that will be a true indicator of how things will be going.
As we’ve mentioned, if a big pre order push comes, hopefully Asus can answer the bell and get units into the hands of consumers. Big delays caused by underestimating demand is not something Asus can afford to do. So given they want to be the #1 choice in markets like India, they need deliver on the expected flood of orders.
June should be a big month for Asus with the launch of the ZenFone 5z which is visually the same as the ZenFone 5, but it’s going to be packing the best hardware available. Asia markets get the first crack to order these releases, with Europe after, and North and South America being the last markets to see ZenFone 5 series models. With some strategy changes though, perhaps most markets will see release dates closer than years past.
