 "No taming this dragon: Chinese brands drive up smartphone shipment 15%")
India’s smartphone shipment grew 15 per cent year-on-year in the April-June quarter to over 29 million handsets, according to preliminary data available from analyst firm Counterpoint Research. While the top three brands - Samsung, Micromax and Intex - have managed to hold on to their respective positions, their marketshares have gone down sequentially. Chinese brands, led by Vivo, Gionee and Oppo, have emerged as the key driver of growth in the quarter.
In the June quarter, shipment of smartphones in the country has gone up by 16 per cent, compared to the previous quarter, when it grew by 23 per cent. Market leader Samsung held on to the top slot but its share dropped to 26 per cent, from 29 per cent in the March quarter. Micromax and Intex now hold 14 per cent and eight per cent share of the market, respectively, down from 17 per cent and 10 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis.
Chinese brands drove the growth for the Indian smartphone shipment in the quarter. Their total share of the market went up to 27 per cent, from 21 per cent in March. Among the Chinese players, Vivo led the race with a 230 per cent jump in its shipment of handsets during the quarter.
Gionee’s shipment has gone up by 100 per cent, followed by Oppo, which grew by 50 per cent. “This quarter, we have seen strong growth of Chinese brands, on account of their aggressive marketing campaigns during and post-IPL,” said Tarun Pathak, senior telecom analyst at Counterpoint Technology Market Research.
According to him, both Vivo and Gionee have benefited due to their associations with T20 cricket in the country. Vivo, being the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL), got the attention of the consumers, which helped it grow its presence in the market. While in the March quarter, Vivo’s marketshare was at 1.4 per cent, it is estimated to touch three per cent in the June quarter. Gionee is a key sponsor of the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.
Handset manufacturers from China have been a major factor behind mobile handset market growth in the country for quite some time. Of late, their importance has grown significantly. Earlier, such firms used to supply handsets to Indian and other brands in the country. Ever since Chinese brands like Lenovo, Xiaomi, Vivo and Huawei entered the market in 2013, their share has gone up on a regular basis. A year ago, Chinese brands used to control 15 per cent of the market.
Consumer-tech devices manufacturer Lenovo, which toppled Intex in the December 2015 quarter to become the third largest player in the market, has managed to grow its importance in the June quarter. As Intex’s share went down, Lenovo inched closer to the third spot once more. Currently, it holds 8.3 per cent of the market, marginally lower than Intex’s. LYF smartphones by Reliance captured six per cent market share, down from seven per cent in the previous quarter.
Indian smartphones market last year crossed the 103-million unit mark and is estimated to grow by more than 30 per cent to 135 million units by end-2016. However, the hold over the market by Indian brands such as Micromax, Intex, Lava and Karbonn is on the wane for the past four quarters. In June 2015, these four major Indian brands used to hold more than a third of the market. Their share has since come down to less than 30 per cent.
ON SPEED DIAL
- Smartphone shipment up 16% q-o-q to 29 million units led by Chinese brands
- Chinese brands captured 27% of the market – up from 21% in the previous quarter
- Vivo leads the race with 230% jump in shipment; Gionee follows with 100% growth
- Both benefited due to association with IPL; Vivo as the title sponsor, Gionee as KKR team sponsor
- Samsung, Micromax & Intex held on to the top 3 but lost market share sequentially
Source: Counterpoint Research preliminary data (June quarter, 2016)
