
Once on the journey
Smartphone brands for Indian consumers
Mature mobile phone manufacturers such as Micromax, Lava, Karbonn and Intex are now working hard to achieve results.
These brands are no longer able to challenge quality products at affordable prices in China.
Smartphone manufacturers have been based here in the past few years.
As of the end of 2014, Indian brands had a total of nearly 50% of the smartphone market, and now account for less than 9% of the market.
On the other hand, according to Counterpoint Research, Chinese brands have been able to monopolize nearly 60% of the smartphone market by the end of 2018.
Upasana Joshi, an analyst at IDC India, said: "When they started, local manufacturers knew the Indian market very well . ".
"For example, Indians want a cell phone with good batteries --
Micromax took advantage of this.
Second, their influence in the national retail counter is very good.
However, the high quality products of Chinese manufacturers have gradually helped to tilt the demand in their favor.
In the fourth quarter of 2016, there were some major changes in India's smartphone market.
With aggressive portfolio strategies and massive marketing spending, Chinese brands have a 46% share of the smartphone market.
"According to Counterpoint, this is also the first time that Indian brands have ranked among the top five smartphone rankings. Ms.
The concept of Xiaomi, the first brand to launch flash sales in India, was immediately welcomed as an online brand to grow, Joshi said.
On the other hand, brands like Oppo and Vivo take the offline route of "investing a lot of money in retail channels and promotions.
"These brands have helped to change the perception of Chinese brands, which were previously considered inferior in quality.
Their products are of good quality, and they have introduced unparalleled specifications at aggressive prices . "
Joshi said he added that Indian consumers in India realize that the quality of Chinese products is far better than the products they get locally.
Hanish Bhatia, senior analyst at devices and ecosystems at Counterpoint Research, said a key reason for the growth of Chinese brands is "their products are affordable
Including strong design language and ability to learn more about Shenzhen
Based on the manufacturing and supply chain ecosystem.
"Chinese suppliers are now experts in hardware design, software and user interface integration," he said . ".
"They have built a strong network of original design manufacturers and suppliers.
"When they expand in China, they also gain a certain degree of product expertise," he said . " He added that these brands are also very active and clever when new devices are released
According to Counterpoint, Micromax's smartphone market share was 5% at the end of 2018 (
Down from about 16% in 2015)
The share of lava is 2. 4% (6% in 2016)
Intex is 0. 6% (
About 10% from 2015).
On the other hand, Xiaomi's share rose from 28% in 2018 to 6% in 2016, and Vivo's share rose from 9% to 5%, an increase from 8% to 5% for Oppo.
However, not all Chinese brands have tasted
Success in India.
Some companies such as LeTV have to quit the market, while others such as Jin Li are in trouble. “Some of them [Chinese firms]
Because they tried to implement their Chinese model in India without knowing the needs of the local market, there was no success.
At the same time, successful Chinese brands are very cautious in their actions . "Bhatia said.
While this could be a tough pick-up for Indian brands, analysts say Micromax and Lava may still be able to do a good job when entering the market --
Smartphone space.
In addition, Reliance Jio is a local brand worthy of attention. Future bleak?
"If Indian OEMs want to survive, they need to take advantage of the opportunities of their subsidiaries
Provide 5 thousand market segments.
At present, no player in China is dominant in this field.
Sellers based on this segment do not pay attention to this segment . "Joshi said.
Many consumers have not moved from feature phones to smartphones, she said.
"These consumers need a device that costs £ 3 . . . . . . Good quality too.
Handset makers may consider tying smartphones with carriers like Airtel and Reliance Jio, in which case handset makers can get upfront subsidies by locking, she said
In a year or two
However, as more and more online Chinese players enter the offline market, it may become more difficult for Indian equipment manufacturers. The omni-
For mobile phone manufacturers, the presence of channels has become very important.
Joshi said he added that with the new e-commerce
Business policy, the exclusive online partnership is expected to disappear, although some brand reviews such as OnePlus say it chose exclusive collaboration
Ups has an online market and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
With new foreign direct investment rules in the field of e-commerce
"Not much discount will happen --
This is the authorization of the government, so there is not much difference between offline and online.
That is what we foresee now.
New rules may also stimulate more online users.
Heavyweight players like Realme and honor can scale offline.
"So it's more difficult for local players to catch up with their strength because their strength is in the offline retail space.
However, there may be room for growth if they launch products with good specifications and aggressive prices, plus promotions . "Joshi said.
Although India is the world's second-largest smartphone market after China, with more than 0. 43 billion users
Penetration compared to many other markets.
Smartphone users account for only 45% of the country's potential addressable market.
"Last quarter, feature phones and smartphones were divided into 50-
43 million smartphones and 43 million phones.
At present, 4g Jio mobile phones dominate the field of functional mobile phones.
The price gap between features and smartphones is huge.
"Who can close this gap will be able to close this game," she said . ".
Most tech companies
Whether it's a local brand or a Chinese player
Other electronic devices, such as television and air purifiers, have also begun.
Chinese players may also be able to beat local brands here.
"It's all about making yourself a lifestyle brand.
This is what Xiaomi is doing, that is, what Samsung has done . . . . . . It may be easy for Xiaomi to sell smart TV because people now know it's a technology brand and it's very spec in the pocket
How do you expect people to buy TV if they know that a company's phones are of poor quality?
Therefore, the perceived value of the brand is very important . "