Xiaomi pips Samsung to become leading smartphone vendor in India

Key Highlights:

• Delhi and Mumbai contributed one-fourth of the total sales in top 50 cities.
• Tier I cities of India continue to be the key volume driver with 29% growth in Q32017
• Tier II cities like Bhopal, Gurgaon & Jaipur emerged as the fastest growing cities in smartphone sales

China's Xiaomi has bagged the leadership position in major 50 cities of India, by registering 120% growth in the third quarter of 2017 (Q32017), said an IDC report.

According to the report, Xiaomi's Redmi Note 4 alone contributed over 40% growth in volume terms, becoming the highest selling model within these cities. Offline expansion through ‘Preferred Partner’ programmes and Mi Stores further added to this growth.

Manu Kumar Jain, global Vice President of Xiaomi, tweeted, "I'm extremely humbled to announce that Xiaomi India has become the number 1 smartphone in India, as per IDC's latest quarterly smartphone tracker (Q32017)."

I’m extremely humbled to announce that @XiaomiIndia has become the No. 1 Smartphone Brand in India, as per @IDC's latest Quarterly Smartphone Tracker (Q3 2017)!! 
 
A journey that started 3 years ago has now turned into an unbelievable legacy! #1SmartphoneBrandXiaomi pic.twitter.com/LNDIC4s7Yp

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) November 14, 2017

He said, "A journey that started 3 years ago has now turned into an unbelievable legacy!"

With this feat, Xiaomi alone owns 26.5% of market share in India, overtaking Samsung which stands at second spot with 24.1% market share in the country.

South Korea's Samsung slipped to second slot with 15% growth in Q32017, IDC report said, adding that it still continues to dominate majority of cities owing to its deep penetration and reach.

Samsung's Galaxy J2, J7 Max, J7 Prime & J7 Nxt together hold up to 50% volumes for the vendor.

Navkendar Singh, Associate Research Director, IDC India, said, “Almost all vendors have now decided to go aggressive on offline channel expansion."

At the third spot was also another Chinese brand Lenovo including Motorola, posting 8% growth from the previous quarter. Cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru tapped majority of sales of K6 Power, Moto E4 Plus & K6 Note and held around 40% of its volumes.

Notably, Chinese smartphone makers have emerged as the best performer in the top 50 Indian cities. The fourth and fifth spots belonged to OPPO and Vivo respectively.

OPPO's models F3 and F3 Plus have also gained momentum. The newly launched A71 is gaining positive sentiments at sub $200 price point.

On the other hand, Vivo saw a gradual decline from the last quarter mainly due to reduced channel spends. IDC believes that the vendor is expected to revive at the back of newly launched V7 Plus and Y69 in the coming quarters.

"It will be interesting to see how they are able to match the distribution strength and retail spends by offline dominant players like Samsung, Oppo, and Vivo. Considering the huge hitherto tapped demand from smaller cities and towns, eventually, these vendors will be forced to tweak their strategies to reach out to the customers in these markets,” Navkendar Singh added.