Samsung, one of the biggest smartphone brands, has one of the biggest markets all over the world. And since it’s an Asian brand, its influence in the Asian market is also tremendous.
But this year, Samsung has slipped down one spot in the Indian market. And taking its place is the Chinese company Vivo.
Vivo Outsells Samsung in India
According to Canalys, an Indian market research firm, in the first quarter of 2020, Vivo shipped more smartphones in India than Samsung. Vivo increased shipments to nearly 50%, with close to 6.7 million units. It is almost 20% of the market, while Samsung’s shipment fell to 14% with 6.3 million units.
Vivo now sits in the second position of most units shipped, whereas Samsung falls behind in the third.
The company, however, to take the lead one more time is Xiaomi, with 10.3 million units shipped. And it covers 30.6% of the entire market.
Chinese mobile brands have thus proved its dominance in the Indian market as four out of five positions went to China. In the fourth place below from Samsung comes Realme with 3.9 million units. And with 3.5 million units, Oppo finishes fifth.
A “Bitter-Sweet” Victory
Despite taking over a globally recognized brand’s spot, experts are calling Vivo’s victory bitter-sweet.
According to Madhumita Chaudhary, Canalys’ analyst, Vivo’s shipments skyrocketed in India due to the Indian Premier League. Vivo is a sponsor of India’s extensively popular T20 cricket league. And the sell-in was high this quarter due to a planned stockpile before the cricket league began.
However, as India went to lockdown at the end of March, it has disrupted the plan entirely. And as IPL is postponed, Vivo’s expected sell-through will likely drop.
