Xiaomi beats anti-Chinese sentiment, stays ahead of Samsung in shipment

Samsung's 38 per cent y-o-y growth fell short of Xiaomi's 13.5 million units

Putting all controversy to rest, American market analyst firm IDC has declared Xiaomi as the number one smartphone brand for the July-September quarter.

In spite of being constrained by supply-chain disruption, widespread negative sentiment about Chinese brands, and an overall economic slowdown, tech major Xiaomi managed to hold on to top spot in India’s smartphone market.

While its market share inched down to 25 per cent, the Chinese brand shipped in 13.5 million handsets during the period, gaining 7 per cent by volume over last year, analyst firm IDC reported.

Rival Samsung, whom Xiaomi had dethroned to become the number one player in the market in mid-2017, gave an impressive performance but failed to match Xiaomi’s numbers.

The contest between the top two brands has been going on since 2016 but this time conflicting claims by different analysts over their market positions have complicated the matter.

IDC’s quarterly numbers come at a time when two other agencies -- Counterpoint and Canalys -- have reported significantly different numbers for the quarter.

While Singapore-headquartered Canalys reported Xiaomi at the top with a 26.1 per cent market share, followed by Samsung (20.4 per cent), Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research placed Samsung at the top with a 24 per cent share and Xiaomi at second spot (23 per cent).

Moreover, their reported shipment numbers for the two brands are grossly mismatched.

According to Counterpoint, Xiaomi shipped in 12.2 million units against Samsung’s 12.7 million. Canalys said Xiaomi’s shipment numbers were over 13 million, much higher than Samsung’s 10.2 million units.

Industry veterans, however, are in favour of considering IDC’s reported figures.

Founded in 1964, Massachusetts-based IDC is one of the oldest in the business and enjoys the confidence of the industry across the globe.

In its report, IDC noted despite facing supply constraints in the early weeks of the quarter, Xiaomi’s three handsets under the brand Redmi emerged as the highest-selling smartphones of the quarter. Further, its sub-brand Poco recorded the highest ever shipments of over one million units.

“We are grateful for the support of our consumers over the past six years. This is our 13th quarter as the market leader in India. This feat is humbling and is a testament to our customer centric approach,” said Manu Kumar Jain, managing director, Xiaomi India.

South Korean giant Samsung has set a target of achieving 40 per cent growth during the festive season. During the July-September quarter, when all major smartphone brands stock up for the steep surge in demand in festive weeks, Samsung’s shipments grew 38 per cent to 12.1 million units, up from 8.8 million units it had shipped in last year.

Its India performance not only outpaced all other major brands in the market but also played a key role in its global numbers. With both the largest and third-largest markets -- China and the US – shrinking, India emerged as the largest market for Samsung, forming 15 per cent of its global shipments.

While the first half of the year was difficult, since June recovery has been steady, backed by consumer offers, refreshed portfolio and easy financing, Asim Warsi, senior vice-president, Samsung India, told Business Standard last week.

According to IDC, unlike its Chinese rivals, Samsung maintained steady supplies throughout the quarter. Further, its focus on the low-end and mid-range price segments paid off.

“Samsung also benefited from the anti-Chinese sentiments prevailing in the initial weeks of the quarter,” analysts at IDC noted.

Further, gaining traction in the online channel helped Samsung’s smartphone business. Predominantly Chinese territory, during the quarter Samsung made inroads into the e-commerce segment, selling 43 per cent of its smartphones through online channels.

Xiaomi, however, continued to lead the online segment with a 35 per cent market share. Its site Mi.com is the third-largest player in online sale channels for smartphones in India -- behind Flipkart and Amazon.

The anti-Chinese sentiment, following tensions between Indian and Chinese troops at the borders, did not affect other players either.

Vivo, the third-largest in the market, registered a 27 per cent surge in shipments over the corresponding quarter last year.

Realme and Oppo, the fourth and fifth players by volume, reported 19 per cent and 11 per cent growth in year-on-year shipments.