In the first quarter of 2020, India saw 33.5 million smartphone shipments, up 12 percent year-on-year. Among them, Vivo's smartphone shipments surpassed Samsung's for the first time, according to the latest data released by market research firm Canalys.
Among the top five suppliers of India's first quarter shipments, Xiaomi topped the list with 10.3 million smartphones, accounting for 30.6 percent of the market. vivo's shipments grew by nearly 50 percent to nearly 6.7 million, surpassing Samsung in second place for the first time and increasing its market share to 20 percent.
Samsung's shipments slipped 13.7 percent to 6.3 million units, placing it in third place.Realme remained fourth with 3.9 million units shipped, while OPPO came in fifth with 3.5 million.
It should be noted that of the five manufacturers mentioned above, realme is a sub-brand of OPPO. If the two shares add up, it will also exceed Samsung. These Chinese manufacturers took 72.6% of the share.
However, Canalys analyst Madhumita Chaudhary said Vivo's victory was "bittersweet". The company is a major sponsor of the Indian Cricket Super League and its high sales during the quarter were mainly due to the pre-match inventory build-up programme. However, an unexpected lockout in late March disrupted the vendor's plans. With the league postponed and a large amount of inventory locked up in offline channels, it will be difficult for Vivo to sell out of stock quickly even if the lockout is lifted.
That said, these figures show that Vivo's brand presence in India is growing. And Realme shipments are up 200% in the past year.
Canalys expects smartphone shipments in India to plummet in the second quarter of 2020 as the outbreak-induced lockout will continue until May 3, leaving suppliers to grapple with both supply and demand issues in the near future.
Chaudhary added: "Everyone's eyes are fixed on the television and they hope to be back to normal soon. While the blockade has been lifted in parts of India and the government has developed a recovery strategy, the availability of workers is heavily dependent on opening state borders and public transport, which will be a key issue for suppliers and equipment manufacturers. And the additional manpower regulation resulting from the outbreak could slow the resumption of work at factories across India, which in turn could directly impact capacity. However, consumer demand is likely to be even stronger. The online channel is likely to be the winner, as public fear of viruses prevents consumers from buying offline."
