Vivo topples Samsung to become second major phone brand in India

Chinese brand Vivo has for the first time overtaken Samsung in terms of number of shipments in India, to finish as the second most popular smartphone brand in the country after Xiaomi. In quarter one of 2020, Vivo’s share has reportedly grown up by almost 50 percent. The company sold close to 6.7 million handsets – a record best performance for the company in India – with Samsung only managing to sell close to 6.3 million units, a 14 percent drop recorded by the company.

Xiaomi with continuous investment in local production, online and offline marketing strategies, retains its spot as the market leader. India posted a 12 percent rise in total shipments, which translates to 33.5 million units sold in the first quarter ending March 31. Out of this, Xiaomi managed a market share of 30 percent with the sale of 10.3 million units.

Vivo, on the other hand, has managed to increase its market share by 50 percent with Samsung recording a significant decline in its market share. The top five most selling brands in India also include Realme and OPPO. While Realme retains its fourth place with sales of 3.9 million units and 11.7 percent market share, OPPO finished fifth after selling close to 3.5 million units in the Q1. OPPO enjoyed 10.4 percent market share in the said period.

According to Canalys’ analyst Madhumita Chaudhary, this victory for Vivo is ‘bitter sweet.’ “The high sell-in this quarter was mainly due to planned stockpiles ahead of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL),” she added. Now, with IPL postponed and the country under lockdown since March 24, Vivo is not going to see instant sales when the lockdown is eased, Madhumita notes. Reportedly, the smartphone shipment in India is expected to plunge in Q2.