Samsung’s smartphone sales drop by half in China in Q1

Samsung Electronics' smartphone sales dropped by more than half in China in the first quarter of this year, according to a Hong Kong-based research firm.

The Korean tech giant is losing its market share to Chinese brands, including Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, in the world's largest smartphone market. 

Samsung Galaxy S8 (right) and Galaxy S8 Plus (Yonhap)

According to the latest report published by Counterpoint Technology Market Research, shipments of Samsung Electronics smartphones dropped around 60 percent year-on-year to 3.5 million units in the first quarter in China. Its market share also fell to 3.3 percent from 8.6 percent.

During the same period, shipments of the top three Chinese brands Oppo, Vivo and Huawei increased 81 percent, 60 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

Huawei held the top spot with a 19.7 percent share, followed by Oppo with a 17.5 percent share and Vivo with a 17.1 percent share.

"Oppo and Vivo were the fastest growing brands followed by Huawei, together cementing the top three spots and extending their lead over Apple, Xiaomi and Samsung by a widening margin," said Neil Shah, a researcher at Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

Industry watchers said the strong sales of Chinese handset makers were driven by their affordable prices, convenient distribution channels and localized app services.

Chinese mainstream smartphone consumers in their 20s and 30s normally buy their phones online and put more value on app services, according to Jeon Byeong-seo, head of China Economy and Finance Research.

"Samsung's smartphones are more expensive, available only at offline agents and lack localized app services. The company needs to figure out more how to satisfy Chinese consumers' needs," Jeon said.

Alongside smartphones, Samsung is also losing to Chinese companies in the nation's home appliance market. Samsung and LG -- the global No. 1 and No. 2 home appliance makers, respectively -- have market shares of only 7 percent and 1.4 percent respectively in China, which is dominated by the top three Chinese brands, Hisense, Skyworth and TCK.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)

Source: Samsung's smartphone sales drop by half in China in Q1

Huawei overtakes Oppo as the top smartphone seller in China: IDC

Shipment volumes and market shares for the Chinese market.

(Image: IDC)

Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has overtaken Oppo as the number one smartphone seller in China for Q1 2017, research firm IDC has revealed.

Of the total 103.1 million smartphones shipped to China during the first quarter, Huawei's shipment volume reached 20.8 million units, a year-over-year increase of 25.5 percent, according to IDC's Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Oppo's shipment volume, which reached 18.9 million units for Q1 2017, showed a year-over-year increase of 19.5 percent.

While Oppo led China's market share in Q4 2016 with 18.1 percent over Huawei's 16.8 percent, Huawei surged ahead in Q1 2017 with a 20 percent share, compared with Oppo's 18.2 percent.

Vivo placed third in Chinese market share for the first quarter, with a 14.1 percent market share. Apple came fourth, with 9.2 percent market share, closely followed by Xiaomi, at 9 percent.

Huawei was helped by the launch of its P10 and P10 Plus smartphones, as well as its Honor V9 and "strong momentum for the Honor brand", according to IDC. Huawei's Honor 8 and Oppo's R9s were also helped by the strength of their photo capabilities, battery capacity, and celebrity endorsements, IDC said.

While the first quarter was relatively soft in terms of product launches, IDC expects second quarter sales to be driven by the launch of handsets such as Vivo's Y53, Xiaomi's Mi6, and Meizu's E2.

Apple's sales amounted to a year-over-year decline of 26.7 percent, according to IDC. However, while Apple has seen double-digit year-over-year declines in China for the fifth quarter in a row, the upcoming 10th-anniversary iPhone should help the Cupertino-based giant experience a rebound in the Chinese market, according to IDC senior market analyst Tay Xiaohan.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he remains enthusiastic about business opportunity in the country, despite Apple's Greater China sales continuing to slip.

In the company's quarterly revenue of $52.9 billion, up from $50.6 billion for the same period a year earlier, China was its only key market that registered revenue decline during the period.

In the company's earning call, Cook blamed unfavourable exchange rates and falling sales in the Hong Kong market, which attracted fewer Chinese visitors to purchase Apple products during the period.

Despite this, Cook said he expects sales performance in China to improve in the current quarter.

In terms of global shipments, Samsung regained the title of "world's largest smartphone vendor" in Q1 2017 with 79.2 million units shipped, according to IDC.

Worldwide smartphone shipments grew by 4.3 percent in Q1 2017, the firm added.

Correction 1:35pm AEST May 8, 2017: Apple's sales, rather than market share, amounted to a year-over-year decline of 26.7 percent.

Source: Huawei overtakes Oppo as the top smartphone seller in China: IDC

China’s smartphone market is dominated by companies you’ve probably never heard of

More Charts

 

Some combination of Samsung and Apple lead many major smartphone markets, but in the largest, China, local players dominate. Recent data from Counterpoint Research has reinforced that: As this chart from Statista shows, Chinese firms Huawei and BBK Electronics (through its Oppo and Vivo brands) shipped the most phones this past quarter, a good ways ahead of Apple and Samsung.

That said, it's important to remember that market share isn't the same as profits. While Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo are way up in China, much of their growth is coming from lower-cost, lower-margin devices. There is a lot of room to sell such devices in China — and the three are making it a point to sell higher-end models — but, as Xiaomi can attest, it's a fickle market.

And though Apple's declining growth in the region is significant, Counterpoint says iPhones still rule the premium market, with a whopping 80% share among phones that cost more than 4000 RMB (about $580). Apple lives solely in the high-end — apart from the iPhone SE, which is generally weaker than Huawei and BBK's phones at the same price — so its slowdown seems to be because that market is saturated. (For now.)

Samsung appears to have been hit harder in the region. While its premium Galaxy S series does alright for itself, its smartphone business is still about quantity more than quality. Its mid-range devices are being chewed up by the local competition, which led to its big shrink in sales.

Mike Nudelman/Business Insider/Statista

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Source: China's smartphone market is dominated by companies you've probably never heard of

Smartphone shipments in China rise just 0.8% for Q1

GUANGZHOU -- Smartphone shipments in China rose 0.8% on the year to 104.1 million units during the January-March quarter, losing steam from the roughly 9% growth marked for all of 2016, according to data released Thursday by IDC.

The U.S. market research company said manufacturers had rushed to get rid of inventories last year ahead of the launch of new models in the spring, resulting in sluggish shipments since January.

Huawei Technologies topped the sales charts in the first quarter, with shipments surging 25.5% to 20.8 million units.

Oppo, a relatively new player that was the leader in 2016, slipped to second place with a 19.5% increase. Vivo stood third, logging a 7.6% gain. Local manufacturers occupied the top three slots.

The market shows signs of polarization, with foreign brands and smaller domestic manufacturers losing momentum. Fourth-place Apple experienced a 26.7% plunge in sales.

In comparison, global smartphone shipments rose 4.3% during the three-month period.

Source: Smartphone shipments in China rise just 0.8% for Q1

Huawei Recaptures China’s Smartphone Crown as Apple Tumbles in First Quarter

(Beijing) — Huawei retook the spot as China's top smartphone seller in this year's first quarter, while global tech giant Apple continued to struggle due to a lack of new products in the crowded market, according to new data released on Thursday by IDC.

At the broadest level, the world's largest smartphone market grew a scant 0.8% in the first quarter, with 104 million units shipped, IDC said. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. surged past former leader Oppo Electronics Corp. to retake the No. 1 spot, winning 20% of the market during the three-month period.

Oppo fell to second place with an 18.2% share, followed by Vivo at third with 14.1%.

But while the top three posted year-on-year growth, Apple Inc. saw its China sales plummet 26.7% in the quarter. That was still enough to retain the No. 4 spot, even as the U.S. tech giant's market share tumbled to 9.2% in the first quarter from 11% in the final three months of 2016.

"Apple has been seeing double-digit year-on-year declines for the fifth quarter in a row, but we believe that Chinese consumers are holding out for the launch of Apple's 10-year anniversary iPhone at the end of the year, and this will help Apple see a rebound in the China smartphone market," IDC analyst Tay Xiaohan said.

The third-party data on Apple's eroding position came a day after the company released its own latest quarterly results, which showed its Greater China sales fell 14% in its fiscal quarter through April 1.

The company attributed the weakness partly to negative effects of a strong U.S. dollar, while analysts said Apple was also being hurt by a lack of new models. The fiercely competitive China market is now Apple's only major global region where sales are still declining following a difficult period for the company.

While Apple's performance continued to sag, former smartphone highflier Xiaomi saw some positive signs in the quarter, amid a major retrenchment following its meteoric rise and equally fast decline over the last four years. Xiaomi retained its overall No. 5 position for the quarter, with sales slipping 7.5% from the previous year. But on a sequential basis, the company managed to boost its market share to 9% in the first quarter from 7.4% at the end of last year.

Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)

Source: Huawei Recaptures China's Smartphone Crown as Apple Tumbles in First Quarter

Global smartphone shipments grow 4.3% on year in 1Q17, says IDC

Global smartphone shipments grow 4.3% on year in 1Q17, says IDC

Steve Shen, DIGITIMES, Taipei [Tuesday 2 May 2017]

Global smartphone shipments totaled 347.4 million units in the first quarter of 2017, up 4.3% from the same period of a year earlier, according to IDC. The first-quarter growth was slightly higher than IDC's previous forecast of a 3.6% growth.

A handful of China-based OEMs, including Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, were the largest catalysts for the first-quarter growth, IDC noted. The potential for this growth trend to continue is high as these vendors are expected to continue to gain share in new territories.

Samsung shipped 79.2 million smartphones in the first quarter and regained control as the leader in the worldwide smartphone market despite a flat first quarter (0% on-year growth). Substantial discounts on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge helped move last year's flagships as they make way for the new S8 and S8 Plus.

Apple remained essentially flat with shipments reaching 51.6 million units in the first quarter, up slightly from the 51.2 million shipped a year earlier.

Huawei sustained its dominance in China growing 21.7% as shipments climbed from 28.1 million units last year, to 34.2 million units in the first quarter of 2017.

Oppo saw its shipments grow 29.8% on year to 25.6 million units in the first quarter. Oppo's midrange, camera-focused R9s was a crucial model in China that helped it to see strong shipments in the market. Additionally, strong shipments outside of China also helped push up growth at Oppo, IDC indicated.

Vivo shipped 18.1 million units in the first quarter, increasing 23.6% from a year earlier, buoyed by its key model, the x9, IDC said.

Source: Global smartphone shipments grow 4.3% on year in 1Q17, says IDC

Chinese use mobile phones 'for everything,' says Mexican academic

Mobile phone users on a subway train in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, June 14, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

MEXICO CITY - The Chinese people are using mobile phones to do so many things that go beyond their original functions, a Mexican academic who once lived in Shanghai has found.

Adolfo Laborde, an expert in international relations and once a visiting scholar at Fudan University in Shanghai, said he learned to use his phone to get groceries, book train tickets or rent a bicycle - all through the instant messaging app WeChat, which integrates a whole bunch of daily activities.

"You use it as a means of payment. You have your bank account information there and you use the mobile phone for everything," said Laborde, who lived in Shanghai during the second half of 2016.

As of December 2016, the number of internet users in China had reached 731 million, more than the entire population of Europe, and some 95 percent of netizens, or 695 million people, connect to the web via mobile devices, data from China's Internet Network Information Center shows.

In addition, 469 million Chinese are used to making payments via mobile phones, and 208 million use it to order takeout food.

E-commerce transactions in China amounted to 21.8 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) in 2015. The figure is expected to reach 38 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) by 2020.

E-commerce boosts consumption, said Laborde, because apps make it so much easier to make purchases without cash. Online transactions often offer added benefits as well, such as discounts or special promotions.

The rise in online retail sales has been accompanied by the advancement of logistics as the goods have to be delivered to the customers.

In densely populated Shanghai, for instance, that has led to a flourishing of delivery companies, which use specially adapted bikes or motorbikes to carry big or large numbers of items for efficiency's sake.

"The logistics is impressive," said Laborde, "with collection points at (street) corners. It shows the domestic market is moving through this e-commerce."

According to analysts at The Financial Times, online purchases represented 18 percent of all retail sales in China in 2016, while in the United States that number was 8 percent.

Jorge Sanchez Tello, a researcher at the Foundation for Financial Studies at Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, said the growth of online shopping in the world's second-largest economy has been driven by an expanding middle class and broadband network.

Tello said the one-day transaction on Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's online shopping sites on so-called Singles' Day in 2014 was equivalent to the sales of an entire quarter at Walmart in Mexico.

In 2009, Alibaba first turned the Nov11 "Singles' Day," originally a popular concept celebrated somewhat self-mockingly by unmarried Chinese youth, to an online shopping carnival for all in a bid to promote sales. Its sales on that day did experience exponential growth successively in the ensuing years.

In Mexico's case, Laborde said, e-commerce still faces two major hurdles - online security and logistical challenges. Public distrust in online activities also plays a part.

"There is a lot of distrust. People still think their information will be stolen, because it happens, and deliveries are slow," Laborde said.

Online purchases in Mexico grew by 59 percent from 2014 to 2015, with sales of over 257 billion pesos ($13.606 million), according to the Mexican Internet Association.

Source: Chinese use mobile phones 'for everything,' says Mexican academic