Despite a government crackdown on Chinese companies and products, Chinese smartphone brands continue to lead the Indian market. According to a Canalys report, Xiaomi retained its market-leading position. The company shipped 7.0 million units irrespective of another quarter of both annual and sequential decline.
Samsung came in second with 6.7 million shipments, followed by Realme, shipping 6.1 million units. Vivo and Oppo made up the top 5, shipping 6.0 million and 5.5 million units, respectively.
Sanyam Chaurasia, the Canalys analyst, said that vendor activity remained muted in Q2 because of falling demand and government scrutiny of Chinese manufacturers. The report highlighted that sky-high inflation hit consumers’ disposable income, and vendors are struggling to cover their operating costs. Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo struggled with government scrutiny and financial problems. However, the business impact was limited. There were no major changes in the vendor’s shares.
Chaurasia said Xiaomi maintained its position, despite organizational changes owing to its revamped Redmi number series. And Oppo and Vivo developed their omnichannel strategy with the launch of the new K10 model and T1 series with their stores and e-retailers. Samsung’s position in the premium segment for the S-series boosted its value share. On the other hand, Apple is using India’s ambitious PLI scheme to make the iPhone 13 locally.
The report highlighted that vendors are looking to leverage strong channel collaboration as smartphone inventory is getting high. Chaurasia believes brands are using early deep discount sales to get rid of stock before the holiday season kicks in. As such, there will be more monsoon season sales on Flipkart and Amazon. There would be significant discounts for consumers to stimulate demand and prepare the market for the upcoming launches in Q3.
Furthermore, vendors are supporting offline retailers’ margins to provide better deals to end users. The second half of 2022 will not see a surge in pent-up demand like in 2021. Canalys said the weakening Indian rupee, rising retail prices, and Chinese brands’ compliance risks are hindering growth in the sub-USD 200 segments.
