Xiaomi pips Samsung to regain top spot in Indian phone market
Live MintChinese handset maker Xiaomi reclaimed the top spot with a 26% share of India’s smartphone market in the December quarter, after anti-China sentiments helped South Korea’s Samsung push ahead with a 24% market share in the previous quarter compared to Xiaomi’s 23%, as per Counterpoint Research. Though smartphone shipments grew 19% from the year earlier in the December quarter, shipments for calendar 2020 fell 4%, with the first half of the year suffering a massive sales decline post covid, and the lockdown disrupting supply chains. During the year, we saw innovative channel strategies from leading brands due to changed consumer behaviour,” Shilpi Jain, research analyst, Counterpoint Research, said in a statement. Counterpoint said Xiaomi’s decision to boost production by partnering with more electronic manufacturing service companies helped it regain the top spot in India.