Smartphone market in India grew over 20 percent in Q3 2016 to more than 30 million in terms of shipments, says Canalys.
Samsung is continuing to lead the Indian smartphone market, despite the recent crisis. Earlier, CMR analyst report said Samsung will lose considerable revenue due to the battery issue. Samsung clarified it is inching towards a historic sales in India despite the battery issue that affect global markets and not India.
Samsung’s shipments grew in line with the market, meaning it continued to lead with a share of just over 20 percent.
Shipments from local players Micromax, Intex and Lava fell, allowing Lenovo to move above Micromax and into second place for the first time.
Xiaomi took fourth place, more than doubling its Q2 2016 shipments.
India has now clearly emerged as a growth opportunity for Xiaomi outside of its home market.
The Canalys report said Indian consumers are increasingly looking past local players’ smart phones in favor of international brands. There is ongoing portfolio consolidation as local players change their product strategies, emphasizing the 4G-enabled models that are now becoming mainstream. Besides having a strong LTE portfolio, channel strategy is increasingly important for smart phone success.
“Lenovo’s focus on offline channels and Xiaomi’s move away from being an online-only vendor have clearly helped. Xiaomi’s shipments grew by almost 170 percent year on year, with its strongest quarter taking it to fourth place in an increasingly competitive market,” said Rushabh Doshi, Canalys Analyst.
Despite its smart phone shipments halving, Micromax held onto third place, but it is coming under pressure from Xiaomi and fifth-placed LYF. LYF is promoted by Reliance Industries group, which is behind the 4G brand of Reliance Jio.
Xiaomi improves performance
Xiaomi saw 170 percent shipment growth YoY while Samsung is leading the Indian smartphone market, in 3Q16.
Samsung witnessed constant shipment growth leading to a market share of 20 percent in India, suggest reports from Canalys.
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At the same time, India based Micromax, Intex and Lava went down in sales.
In a first, Lenovo has substituted Micromax gaining the second position, while the latter fell down to the third position.
Micromax saw a 50 percent decline in smartphone shipments, but faces stiff competition from Xiaomi and Lyf.
Xiaomi stood fourth in the list with two times the shipments of that in the Q2 2016 shipments, while Lyf came in fifth.
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The report suggests that the Indian smartphone market is bent towards international brands as compared to local providers.
The Indian smartphone providers Micromax, Intex, Lava and Vivo are trying to expand their presence in the country, with 5G equipped phones being the center of attention.
International players like Lenovo have started to focus on offline sales, while Xiaomi has also shifted its online-only stand.
Only last week, Xiaomi was reported to have sold over 1 million smartphones in India from October 1 to October 18, as per Global Times report.
Also, Xiaomi has become the third-largest smartphone vendor in India with a market share of 8.4 percent, reveal IDC reports.
Vina Krishnan
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