Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi has had to bear the brunt of making a mistake in understanding the preferences of customers in India. South Korea’s electronics company Samsung has overtaken it and secured the first position in the world’s second largest smartphone market. Xiaomi’s emphasis was on selling handsets under Rs 10,000 but customers in the country are willing to pay higher prices for smartphones with attractive designs and more features.
Samsung has increased its sales by launching handsets that cater to the needs of these customers as well as through financing schemes. Data from market research firm Counterpoint shows that Samsung’s market share stood at 20 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, while Xiaomi was 18 percent. Xiaomi’s loss of number one position in the country’s market of over 620 million smartphone users shows how much damage companies do when they fail to meet the changing needs of customers.
According to Counterpoint, the market share of the less than $120 (roughly Rs. 10,000) mobile category in the country declined to 26 percent last year from about 41 percent the year before. The share of premium smartphones (above Rs 30,000) almost doubled to 11 per cent.
xiaomi and Samsung India is an important market for both the companies, with smartphones being their top-selling electronic devices. Samsung’s total sales in the country in 2021-22 were about $ 10.3 billion, of which about $ 6.7 billion came from smartphones. Xiaomi’s total sales were $4.8 billion. Xiaomi is also facing some difficulties in India. In recent months, some senior executives of the company have resigned. Apart from this, due to being associated with China, the strictness of the regulators has also increased on Xiaomi. The company has decided to revamp its product portfolio. Earlier this year, Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 12, the premium variant of which costs more than Rs 30,000. Recently it has introduced Xiaomi 13 Pro, which is priced at Rs 79,999 and is the most expensive smartphone of the company in the country.
