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Counterpoint Research
Samsung has fallen from the pedestal and become the No. 2 handset maker in India.
The company held a 14.4 percent share of the handset market in India in the second quarter, putting it in second place behind India-based device maker Micromax, which owned 16.6 percent share, Counter Point Research reported this week. Nokia came in third place at 10.9 percent share.
This is the first time that Micromax has bested Samsung — and become the top mobile phone brand in India.
The success for Micromax came among feature phones, which account for about 70 percent of total device shipments in India. Samsung could see a silver lining, however, owning the smartphone market with 25.3 percent share, beating out Micromax’s 19.1 percent.
That Samsung has lost its top spot in the Indian market is the latest bad news internationally for the South Korea-based company. Last quarter, Samsung also lost its place at the summit of China’s smartphone market, giving way to Xiaomi. Both India and China are extremely important markets for all mobile firms. Samsung is likely scrambling to regain its footing.
In its most recent earnings call, the company acknowledged that it expects the rest of 2014 to be difficult for its mobile division as it continues to face pricing pressure and increased competition in the marketplace.
Still, it wasn’t all bad news for Samsung in India. Counter Point Research reported that India’s smartphone segment grew 68 percent year over year, which will help Samsung sell more devices in the coming quarter. By contrast, the feature phone segment grew just 2 percent during the same period as customers in India increasingly turn to smartphones.
CNET has contacted Samsung for comment on the report. We will update this story when we have more information.
(Via The Next Web)
