Indian brands pushed out from top 5 smartphone ranking: Report

Indian smartphone vendors have dropped out of the top five smartphone ranking in the country during Q4 2016, following the demonetisation, according to analysis done by Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

“For the first time, no Indian brand figured among the top 5 smartphone rankings,” Counterpoint said as a statement in their report. “Demonetisation has widened the usual seasonal decline from estimated 12 per cent to 19 per cent YoY,” they concluded.

However, amid the shortfall of Indian brands, Chinese brands contributed around 46 per cent of the total smartphone market in India. “While the demonetisation had its impact on local players, it will be unfair to take credit from Chinese players that continue to expand their presence throughout India, riding on aggressive portfolio strategies and substantial marketing spends,” Counterpoint added.

In the research, Counterpoint revealed November 2016 saw the Chinese brands’ shares reach an all-time high, accounting for 51 per cent of the total smartphone market.

“Chinese brands OPPO, Vivo, Lenovo and Xiaomi continued to grow at the expense of Samsung and Indian brands. Their success was attributable to a variety of factors including strong marketing and channel push, as well as better access to components that were in limited supply. As a result, Chinese brands captured close to 50 per cent market share.” said Counterpoint.

Although over 83 million smartphones in 2016 were ‘Made in India’, three in every four smartphones sold were manufactured in India and the local value addition remains close to 6 per cent.

Apple captured the 10th position in smartphone rankings during Q4 2016, but led the premium segment with a 62 per cent market share.

Overall, the smartphone shipments in India grew 18 per cent annually in 2016 compared to the global smartphone market, which grew 3 per cent.