Online sales help Samsung retain number one slot in India

NEW DELHI: Samsung Electronics continues to lead India’s smartphone market on the back of flagship S6 and S6 Edge launches, although its share slipped to 24.5% in the quarter ended June as No. 2 Micromax Informatics narrowed the gap with the Korean rival by improving its share to 16.7%, according to Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

The leading domestic handset maker regained market share mostly due to an increase in online sales, analysts at Counterpoint Research said. Intex, Lenovo and Lava grabbed the No. 3, 4 and 5 positions, respectively. Companies shipped 25 million smartphones in the quarter, increasing 34% from a year earlier and 25% from the previous three-month period.

“The smartphone market regained its sequential growth mainly due to aggressive discounting and offers by the brands, retailers and ecommerce firms to clear out inventory accumulated from previous quarters,” said Tarun Pathak, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, who is based in Gurgaon. The agency tracks handset market shares based on shipments into India.

Intex captured the third spot with 9.9%, Lenovo including Motorola got 7.5% and Lava ended flat with a 5.3% share of the smartphone market.

Xiaomi smartphone shipments increased sequentially and the Chinese company became the third-largest 4G smartphone vendor during the quarter, with brisk sales of Redmi 2 4G and Mi Note 4G. Apple’s iPhone shipments remained strong as the company expanded its distribution through online and offline channels. Apple shipments crossed 1 million units in the seven months of its financial year since October 2014. Lenovo was helped by sales of its A6000 plus and A7000 models.