Prabhu RamConsumer preferences have changed over the years, which have been tapped well by the Chinese mobile players operating in the Indian market. With latest specs – high-resolution camera, selfie options, huge storage capacity, flash charge technology, Chinese brands, including Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei, have flooded the market with their hard to resist offerings at affordable prices, pushing back the likes of Samsung and Apple.
Chinese brand incursion
In 2018, the Chinese brands accounted for 60% market share of the Indian smartphone market, as per data from Cyber Media Research (CMR). On the other hand, Indian brands such as Mircomax, Intex, Lava, which had a significant presence till the last two years, are almost out of the picture with the aggression of Chinese players.
Prabhu Ram, head- Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, says the Chinese smartphone brands were able to attract and capture Indian millennials, providing them with affordable smartphones with latest specs backed by attractive designs.
“With their keen investment in understanding consumer personas and mapping their products, Chinese brands could capture the India market. The hunger for growth was such that Chinese brands set an aggressive pace for innovation, introducing new models at regular intervals. In comparison, the competition failed to grasp changing market realities, and failed in introducing timely innovations, or, in marketing themselves well,” Ram said.
