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Micromax ousts Samsung to become the leading supplier in India’s smartphone market

Micromax has become the first local firm to become the leading supplier in India’s smartphone market for the first time in the fourth quarter, research firm Canalys said. The report was issued on Feb. 3.

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According to the Canalys report, Micromax accounted for 22 percent of smartphone sales in India in the October-December quarter, ahead of Samsung’s 20 percent. In total, 21.6 million smartphones were sold in India in the period, a 90 percent surge from a year earlier.

India, which has the world’s second-highest number of mobile phone accounts after China, is the third-biggest market by number of smartphones sold. Low-priced smartphones are the top sellers in a country where many buyers are upgrading from feature phones.

Micromax’s performance was partly due to its “continuing appeal to mobile phone users upgrading to smartphones”, Canalys said. Canalys’ recently published estimates show that in Q4 2014 in India, 23% of shipments were of devices priced under US$100 (Rs 6,000), while 41% were of devices in the US$100 to US$200 bracket (Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000).

Canalys Analyst Rushabh Doshi said, “Canalys believes catering to local market preferences will become increasingly important. Micromax has been quicker than its competitors to improve the appeal of devices, for example, by including a wide variety of local languages on its Unite phones.”

Micromax and Samsung were followed by two other Indian budget smartphone brands, Karbonn and Lava, by number of handsets sold in the fourth quarter, Canalys said.

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