BackMicromax overtakes Samsung, gains top spot in India market: Report
Micromax overtakes Nokia in feature phones and is second to Samsung in the smartphone space; Motorola a surprise achiever with small product portfolio
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Micromax surpassed Samsung Electronics Co. to become the top mobile phone supplier in India in the second quarter of 2014, capturing 17% of the market, up from 13% in Q1, according to a report by Counterpoint research.
Micromax also overtook Nokia Corp. in the quarter to become the leading feature phone supplier and closed in on Samsung to become the second largest smartphone vendor. While the mobile phone market in India grew only a modest 2% over the last year, the smartphone segment grew 68%.
According to Counterpoint research, majority of growth in the smartphone segment during the quarter was driven by long tail of local and other Asian brands operating in the Indian market. Indian brands together captured more than two-thirds of the total mobile phone shipments and more than half of the smartphone shipments.
Globally, Micromax also jumped up the rankings becoming the tenth largest handset brand in terms of mobile phone shipment volumes, says Counterpoint research on its website. This is the vendor, which mobile industry will have to keep an eye on as it expands beyond domestic markets.
The research also notifies a surprise performance from Motorola, thanks to its attractive but leaner portfolio of Moto X/G/E and go-to-market strategy. The brand which could soon be part of Lenovo Group Ltd, has built a strong base in high-volume India smartphone market, entering the top five rankings surpassing Nokia, Apple, Sony and others, says Counterpoint on its website.
However, an intensified competition in the Indian smartphone space is on the cards as Asian OEMs such as Xiaomi, Gionee, Huawei and Asus enter with premium-like hardware at an aggressive price point attracting young tech-savvy but price-conscious urban buyers.
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