Chinese smartphone brand Vivo has beaten South Korean brand Samsung to become the second brand with the most number of shipments in India in Q1 2020. Vivo’s shipments grew by about 50 percent, overtaking Samsung for the first time. The brand sold 6.7 million units. Samsung, meanwhile, saw a drop of 14 percent to sell 6.3 million units.
The top spot was still maintained by Chinese brand Xiaomi, with a 12 percent increase in shipments to sell 33.5 million units. Meanwhile, at the fourth spot came Realme with 3.9 million units sold. Further, Oppo came fifth with 3.5 million units shipped.
Watch: Top 5 Instagram tips and tricks
“Vivo’s victory is bitter-sweet,” said Canalys Analyst Madhumita Chaudhary. “The high sell-in this quarter was mainly due to planned stockpiles ahead of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the unplanned lockdown at the end of March has disrupted the vendor’s plans. With IPL postponed, and much of its inventory in offline channels locked out, Vivo will struggle to see a quick sell-through when the lockdown lifts,” she adds.
Market share in India in Q1 2020
In terms of market share in Q1 2020, Xiaomi leads in India with a 30.6 percent market share. This is followed by Vivo coming in at 19.9 percent market share. The third is Samsung at 18.9 percent market share. Realme comes fourth with 11.7 percent market share, followed by Oppo at 10.4 percent. Other brands made up the remaining 8.5 percent.
The report further states that shipments in India are set to take a hit further in Q2 2020. The lockdown has extended to May 3, and another possible extension is in sight. This means vendors will face issues with both supply and demand in the near future.
“While parts of India emerge out of the lockdown and the government works out an exit strategy, worker availability, which depends heavily on opening state borders and allowing public transport, will be a key issue for vendors and ODMs,” added Chaudhary. “Additional manpower regulations due to COVID-19, like in China, is likely to slow down resumption activities in factories across India. Consumer demand, however, is likely to be more robust. Online channels are likely to emerge the winners as public fear of the virus deters consumers from buying offline,” she adds.
