Chinese manufacturing giant, Xiaomi, has been doing quite well in the smartphone market. For several consecutive quarters, the company has been at the top of the Indian smartphone market. Recent reports show that Xiaomi is not losing its top spot in India anytime soon. India is the second-largest smartphone market globally thus it is a big deal for manufacturers. According to Canalys report for the first quarter of 2020, the shipments in the Indian smartphone market hit 33.5 million units. This is an increase of 12% year-on-year.
Chinese manufacturer, Xiaomi, claimed 10.3 million units (30.6% market share) to rank first. Vivo’s shipments increased by about 50% to 6.7 million units. It surpassed Samsung for the first time to claim the second spot with a 20% market share. In the third position is Samsung. However, the South Korean manufacturer keeps falling. Its shipment dropped by 13.7% to 6.3 million units. Ranking fourth is Realme with 3.9 million units shipment while Oppo is in fifth with 3.5 million units. Please note that Realme is a sub-brand of Oppo. If we add the two shares, it will also surpass Samsung. In the top 5 rankings, Chinese manufacturers collectively have a 72.6% share.
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Vivo’s rise the Indian smartphone market comes with a downside
Canalys analyst Madhumita Chaudhary thinks Vivo’s victory “bittersweet.” The company is the main sponsor of the Indian Cricket Super League. Its high sales during the quarter are mainly due to a pre-match inventory increase plan. However, the coronavirus spread disrupted the supplier’s plan. Presently, there is a delay in the league, and Vivo’s massive offline inventory is on hold for now. After the lockdown, it will not be easy for Vivo to sell out the inventory quickly. This is a downside for Vivo because it had the opportunity to do better but it will now have to make do with a shipment of just under 7 million units.
Nevertheless, these data indicate that Vivo’s brand influence in India is growing. Realme shipments have increased by 200% in the past year. However, Canalys expects Indian smartphone shipments to plummet in the second quarter of 2020. This is because the coronavirus lockdown will continue until May 3. This means that suppliers will need to work hard to deal with both supply and demand issues in the near future.
