Xiaomi May Lose Top Spot in Indian Smartphone Market in 2020
Dec. 16, 2019Speaking of Xiaomi’s prospects of retaining the No.1 position next year, he said that“looking at the potential and how Xiaomi is positioned, it seems difficult for the brand to retain the honours”.“It is now on a defensive mode”, he added.“As Realme comes with new offerings in the mid-tier and premium segment, and OPPO and Vivo also unveil plans to go premium, Xiaomi faces an uphill battle”, Ram agreed.
To retain their numero uno position, Xiaomi would need to go beyond its existing brand imagery and also consolidate its offline play, Ram said.“Xiaomi has been able to build on their offline play by building their own chain of Mi Stores, apart from their non-exclusive network of Mi Preferred Partners”, he added.
But if Xiaomi loses the top spot in the Indian smartphone market, which brand will replace it? While CMR’s Ram thinks that the question is “wide open right now”, Kawoosa believes that Samsung could resurface as the leader.“It will take other challenger brands time to cross the 20 per cent mark and eventually aspire to become No 1. In that case, Samsung could resurface as the leader while Xiaomi’s share is being eaten up by Realme and others”, he said.
Ram, however, warned that one cannot underestimate the potential of Realme.“Realme looks promising and with aggressive strategies, it is potentially well-placed to scale new heights, as long as it is able to avoid inventory glut”, Ram said.
