A Recently released report by Canalys reveals that Xiaomi becomes the second largest smartphone brand in India. The topmost position is acquired by Samsung. However, a previously leaked report by Canalys Xiaomi has to work harder in China to acquire the top position, which currently is acquired by Huawei, followed by Oppo and Vivo.
In India, Samsung is leading the race followed by Xiaomi. The Chinese smartphone maker accounts for 14 per cent of shipment in the first quarter, which was around 11 per cent a year back. This means, Xiaomi has experienced a rise in shipment rate by 3 per cent, states Singapore-based agency Canalys
The report further mentions that Xiaomi has shipped about 4 million units in Q1 2017. The reason for Xiaomi’s success in India is because of its online go-to-market strategy. “Demonetization seems to have had no impact on it, as its target customer is young, Internet-enabled and primarily buys online,” says Canalys Research Analyst Ishan Dutt.
Ahead of Xiaomi is the race to be the best smartphone brand in India is Samsung. The South Korean manufacturer even after Note 7 fiasco and the decision to not bring the refurbished Note 7 as Note 7R doesn’t affect Samsung’s reputation among the Indian Samsung lovers. As per the report by Canalys, Samsung ships around 6 million units, almost 2 million more than Xiaomi. The reason behind Samsung’s success to retain the topmost position in India is because of its offline sale strategy that the company adapted for its J series smartphones.
The third best smartphone brand is acquired by Vivo. “Vivo was just shy of shipping 3 million smartphones in the quarter. Its strategy to focus on the highly fragmented ‘unorganized’ retail market is paying off. Its ability to drive sales by investing in marketing campaigns has seen it displace local vendors that once thrived in this space,” says Mo Jia, Research Analyst.
Vivo recent launched the Vivo V5s in India, which is said to be an excellent selfie camera phone with a 20-megapixel front facing snapper. This is supposedly the successor to the previously announced Vivo V5. The fourth and fifth position is taken over by Lenovo and Oppo.
“India’s smartphone market grew 12 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2017, with over 27 million units shipped, but no new names entered the top five,” states the report.
