Chinese smartphone companies reboot as rivals creep up the screen
Apple and Samsung, among others, and their brand image hurt due to intense government scrutiny, top Chinese smartphone brands are scrambling to protect their turf in the Indian market by strengthening their presence in offline retail, roping in brand ambassadors, launching new initiatives, and focusing on product quality.
These strategies are causing a marked shift in the way these Chinese brands are operating in India this year where smartphone demand has weakened amid higher product prices and economic uncertainties, brand experts and market trackers said.
Experts feel that this is also a good time for new entrants such as Nothing and Google to get a foothold with relatively lower entry barriers as compared to other markets. Increased scrutiny by Indian authorities and tepid demand for higher volume smartphones costing less than Rs 10,000, where Chinese brands have a major presence, has seen the combined share of these products drop to 61% in Q2 2023 from their peak of 77% in Q1 2020.
In the same period, the combined share of global brands such as Apple and Samsung rose from 17% to 27%.
“Most of the Chinese brands have become persona non grata in the Indian market due to the country-to-country relationship that came into question with China…The Chinese companies are trying to play the price war but are facing competition from Samsung in the middle of-the-pyramid, and Apple at the top,” said Harish Bijoor, a business and brand strategy consultant.
Bijoor added that India has become a smartphone upgrade market as the number of new users is declining. This has come as a double whammy for Chinese brands whose market expenses are rising while sales volumes are declining.
The brands are now focusing on increasing their
