New Delhi: Emerging smartphone brands are gaining momentum in India with one in every four smartphones sold in 2016 expected to be from an emerging brand, according to a Cyber Media Research (CMR) report. As per the report, 15.2 million smartphones shipped in 2015 were from emerging brands which is set to double this year at 32.5 million units, representing 25 per cent of the market. CMR defines ‘emerging’ brands as tho-se which were launched in India not before 2013.
Micromax’s Yu and Reliance’s LYF are the only two Indian brands in top 10 emerging smartphone brands in 2015. In 2015, Xiaomi led the market followed by Gionee and Panasonic with 23.6 per cent, 14.7 per cent and 11.3 per cent market shares, respectively, within the emerging brands. Some 21 new smartphone brands were launched in 2015 in India with prominent ones include InFocus, LYF, Qiku and Meizu. “The emerging brands do not remain confined only up to giving competition to the incumbents and offering a wide variety of options for prospective buyers to choose from. But these brands are also focusing on offering value for money products, so that buyers could get more and best of specifications at affordable price points,” said Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst telecoms at CMR.
“Further these brands have been trend setters like — Xiaomi introducing the concept of flash sales, OnePlus going by invitation mode only and Oppo boldly focusing on the camera feature,” he added.
