According to a recent forecast by Gartner, Inc. mobile device sales in India are expected to reach 251 million units in 2013. This is an increase of 13.5 percent over sales of 221 million units in 2012. The report also reveals that the mobile handset market is expected to show steady growth through 2016 when end user sales will surpass 326 million units.
Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner said,“The Indian mobile phone market is very competitive with more than 150 device manufacturers selling devices to consumers. Most of these manufacturers remain focused on the low-cost feature phone market which still constitutes over 91 percent of overall mobile phone sales, offering a huge market to compete in. The increase in share of smartphone device sales, declining sales to first time buyers and the continuous focus of global manufacturers on the low cost feature phone market, has put many of the 150 plus local and Chinese device manufacturers under survival mode. Many of them are already struggling to maintain share in the growing market.”
The report said that some of these local and Chinese manufacturers are building capabilities, distribution and brand to compete with the big global players as they are preparing to compete at a larger level covering broader consumer segments. Manufacturers such as ZTE, Micromax, Huawei , Karbonn Mobile, stand at sixth, seventh, eleventh and twelfth in the Indian smartphone market in 1H12 and are constantly expanding their smartphone portfolio to compete at a larger level with big global manufacturers Samsung and Nokia which held the first and second position respectively.
According to the report, Samsung’s brand strength and wide device portfolio has allowed it to take advantage of the high growth opportunities in Indian market. Samsung’s share has risen from 15 percent in 1Q11 to 49.8 percent in 2Q12. If Samsung continues this strong growth, it could end 2012 with more than 60 percent share — exactly where Nokia was at the start of 2011.
