Chinese smartphone manufacturers Oppo and Vivo are having a dream run in India. With a combined market share of 22 percent in Q2 2017, both the companies secured a spot in top five smartphone manufacturers in India.
However, in a major blow, Oppo and Vivo recorded 30 percent decline in sales for the first time in the month of July. The sales slump can be attributed to the foray of Xiaomi and other manufacturers into the offline market due to the implementation of GST. The backlash against Chinese goods may have also contributed to the sales decline.
On the contrary, smartphone sales registered 8 percent month-on-month growth in July. Alerted by the sudden drop in sales, Oppo and Vivo have reportedly sent their executives to India to liaise with Indian employees and distributors to get to know the ground reality and prepare plans for upcoming months.
Subhash Chandra, managing director at retailer Sangeetha Mobiles, said,
“Xiaomi has become extremely aggressive in physical stores, started branding in stores and has even started advertising in media and outdoor hoardings for the first time that has exerted pressure. All these activities have eaten into the share of Oppo and Vivo.”
Oppo and Vivo who primarily rely on camera capabilities of their phones to sustain in the market need to innovate in other areas too for continual growth. Also, the pricing is playing spoilsport for both the companies, as their counterparts like Xiaomi and Huawei offer phones with same specifications at lower prices.
Nevertheless, the next generation smartphones from Vivo and Oppo like Vivo X9 and Vivo X9 Plus, Oppo R11 and Oppo R11 may turn around fortunes for them.
