On April 27th, Canalys released the latest data showing that in the first quarter of 2020, India’s smartphone shipments reached 33.5 million units, an increase of 12% year-on-year. Among them, VIVO’s smartphone shipments in India exceeded Samsung’s for the first time. Xiaomi ranks first.
According to Canalys data, among the top five suppliers with the highest shipments in the first quarter of India, Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments were 10.3 million units, ranking first and occupying a market share of 30.6%. VIVO’s shipments have increased by nearly 50% to close to 6.7 million units, surpassing Samsung for the first time and ranking second, with its market share rising to 20%.
Samsung’s shipments fell by 13.7% to 6.3 million units, ranking third. Realme maintained fourth place with 3.9 million units shipped, while OPPO ranked fifth with 3.5 million units shipped.
It should be noted that among the above five major manufacturers, Realme is a sub-brand of OPPO. If the two shares add up, it will also surpass Samsung. These Chinese manufacturers won a 72.6% share.
However, Canalys analyst Madhumita Chaudhary called VIVO’s victory “bittersweet.’VIVO’s victory is bitter-sweet. 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. IPL is postponed, and much of its inventory in offline channels locked out. So Vivo will struggle to see a quick sell-through when the lockdown lifts.’
Nevertheless, these data indicate that VIVO’s brand influence in India is growing. Realme shipments have increased by 200% in the past year.
Canalys expects Indian smartphone shipments to plummet in the second quarter of 2020 because the blockade caused by the epidemic will continue until May 3. And suppliers will need to work hard to deal with both supply and demand issues in the near future.
Chowdhury added: ‘All eyes are glued to the TV sets in hopes of returning to normal. 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. Additional manpower regulations due to COVID-19, like in China, is likely to slow down resumption activities in factories across India, directly impacting production capacity. 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.’