Neck and neck with Samsung, Xiaomi grows real big in India

New Delhi, Oct 17 : Riding on the success of its Redmi Note 4 device, Xiaomi has become the fastest growing smartphone brand in the third quarter of 2017, with a growth of 292 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY), market research firm Counterpoint Research said on Tuesday.

The Chinese handset maker was at the second spot with 22.3 per cent market share with its Redmi Note 4 as the best selling model for the third successive quarter.

South Korean major Samsung continued to lead the smartphone market with a share of 22.8 per cent, Counterpoint said in its preliminary estimates for Q3 2017.

"The rise of Xiaomi brand in India can be attributed to the fact that the mid-price segment (about Rs 10,000) in India started to peak in late 2016. Xiaomi, with its Redmi Note 4, was right there and became the model of the market within no time," Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research told IANS.

"Xiaomi's offline expansion into India with right device portfolio helped the smartphone maker cement its position right after the market leader Samsung," Pathak added.

Chinese players Vivo and OPPO registered 121 per cent and 117 per cent (YoY) growth, respectively, during the third quarter of 2017.

Meanwhile, smartphone shipments touched an all-time high in the third quarter, growing 13 per cent YoY and 32 per cent Quarter on Quarter (QoQ), as brands pushed stock into the channels to tap the festive demand.

Domestic handset maker Micromax posted its best-ever quarter since demonetisation impacted local brands in 2016, and emerged as the third largest featurephone player during the third quarter of 2017.

Micromax "Bharat 2" was the best-selling smartphone in the sub-Rs 5,000 segment.

"It will be difficult for Xiaomi to root out Samsung in the Indian market but yes, it won't be a surprise to see Xiaomi becoming number one model in one of the upcoming quarters," Pathak predicted.

In the feature phone segment, Samsung is the leader with 23 per cent share, followed by Itel at 13 per cent and Micromax at 11 per cent.