Samsung breathes down Xiaomi's neck in smartphone race for April-June: Canalys

NEW DELHI: Samsung fell just short of Xiaomi in India's highly-competitive smartphone market in the April-June quarter, with two players recording stellar shipment growths to a corner over 60% share, research agency Cbadys said . Apple however recorded its worst performance ever, with shipments halving from a year back.

The Korean major shipped in 9.9 million units in the quarter, roughly the same as Xiaomi's, clocking up to 30.2% market share to its Chinese rivals 30.4% share, Cbadys data showed
on Thursday .

This is the best seller in India, up from 43% a year ago, based on the Singapore-based market research firm. Samsung's shipments grew nearly 50% on year while Xiaomi grew to 106%, albeit of a lower base.

Apple, but with its worst ever quarter, with iPhone shipments to India plunging by 50% in the quarter on the back of a 22% drop in the January-March period. And, going by the trend, Apple could well have its worst ever year, Cbadys Research Manager Rushabh Doshi said.

However, the company's market share of partners and move to a 'brand-first, volume-next' strategy will be improved.

BBK Electronics-backed Vivo and Oppo took third and fourth spots with shipments of 3.6 million and 3.1 million, respectively.

Xiaomi had been dethroned as a smartphone company in India, after a reign of six years, in the fourth quarter of 2017, and in the offline channel. Samsung had also been facing a tough competition, but other Chinese players such as Oppo, vivo and OnePlus. It has recently opened up a new factory which will almost double its mobile manufacturing capability to support growth in India.

"Samsung is hitting back … despite Xiaomi's growing popularity in India, Samsung will remain the first choice for consumers," Analyst Channelys TuanAnh Nguyen, said in a note. He will continue to give a new lease of life for the future.

During the quarter, Cbadsys said, Samsung launched the devices with a portrait of Dolly and Background Blur Shape functions.

Based on Cbadys' smartphone sell-in estimates, the J2 Pro was Samsung's top model in the 2018 quarter, with 2.3 million units shipped in India. In comparison, Xiaomi shipped 3.3 million of its Redmi 5A.

Overall smartphone shipments grew by 22%, to just under 33 million units, Cbadys said.

"Getting priorities will be important to smartphone vendors, and it will be a choice between profitability and volume growth," Doshi said.

Continuing consolidation at the top, the smaller vendors were fighting it out by reviewing their business strategies with a view to long-term sustainability and profitability, the agency said.

Asus recently turned its India strategy on its head, moving from a distributor-driven go-to-market model to a single partner, online-first strategy with Flipkart. Asus' shipments almost tripled since the previous quarter. Oppo launched an online-only brand, Realm, challenging Xiaomi with value-for-money products.

"Volume is not the only strategy in India. Samsung and Xiaomi often sells for business and business opportunities. "The climate is right for businesses to realign and re-enter the market," said Doshi added.