Micromax Tops Samsung as Leading Phone-seller in India

Indian low-cost smartphone maker Micromax has overtaken Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, as the top brand in all types of mobile phones in the recently concluded quarter, snapping a 16.6% market share, according to a recent research.

Samsung controlled 14.4% of the market, down from 16.3% in the first quarter, showed the data from Counterpoint Research. However, Samsung was still the leading seller of smartphones in the market.

“Micromax is leveraging its wider distribution reach, growing brand awareness not only in urban but in rural India with affordable low-cost handsets,” analyst Neil Shah of Counterpoint is quoted by Reuters as saying.

The Indian market is price sensitive and domestic mobile phone makers such as Micromax are expanding their market control by offering cheaper handsets.

The firms mostly deploy processors made by MediaTek, which end up being more affordable than those made by industry giant Qualcomm Inc, and outsource output to China and Taiwan, as opposed to building their own production factories, lowering costs further.

Combined, domestic Indian mobile phone makers commanded around 32% of the local market, the report showed, and more than two-thirds of overall shipments.

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In the smartphone market, Samsung still had the lion’s share of control in terms of shipments, standing at 25.3% over the second quarter while Micromax commanded 19.1%.

Yet, Samsung’s grip is sliding, Shah said, adding that in the first three months of 2014, Samsung commanded a 33% market share in smartphones, while Micromax boasted 16.7%.

India falls behind China and the United States in Smartphone sales, with as many as 90 million units expected to be sold there this year, Counterpoint data showed.

But according to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung may be attempting to win back some its market share. Last week, the firm introduced three more smartphones to its “affordable” class of handsets sold at lower than 10,000 rupees.

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