20/07/2017 It's Samsung vs Xiaomi in India now as battle for market share hots up - The Economic Times

ET Home Tech Hardware Search for News, Stock Quotes & NAV's

SENSEX NIFTY 50 GOLD (MCX) (Rs/10g.) USD/INR Download ET CHOOSE

02:07 PM | 20 JUL LIVE CREATE LANGUAGE
PORTFOLIO MARKETS APP
MARKET STATS 31,876 -79.09 9,872 -27.50 28,180.00 -70.00 64.44 0.16 ENG

It's Samsung vs Xiaomi in India now as battle for market

share hots up
BY WRITANKAR MUKHERJEE, ET BUREAU | JUL 20, 2017, 10.18 AM IST Post a Comment

KOLKATA: Samsung and Xiaomi are stepping up their fight in the Indian market with both
sides seeking to win over the retail trade. The South Korean company has even stopped
supplying its handsets to 200 retailers that entered into an agreement with Xiaomi to
become preferred sellers for the Chinese brands phones, said several people with
knowledge of the matter. Xiaomi expects its smartphones to account for over half of the
total handset sales at these retailers.

Xiaomi India managing director Manu Jain sent a message of support to a WhatsApp
group for members of the trade. I really appreciate that all of you are standing strong,
despite the recent action taken by competition, he said in the communication that ET has
seen. Please do not worry about any brand taking away stock or other support. We will 'Several of the retailers were leading partners of
support you with more stock if required. In addition, we are also planning a financing Samsung. Since Xiaomi has targeted them,
Samsung is now renegotiating with them to woo
scheme which we should be able to announce shortly.
back.'

A Samsung India spokesperson said it was Indias biggest and most trusted smartphone
EXPAND
brand. We have built the widest network of partners across the country, with whom we RELATED COMPANIES
have been working for over two decades, winning the trust and love of consumers,
Vivo
together. It is our endeavour to provide the best retail experience to our customers, and
we will continue to work with our partners for this.
Big Change:
The end of Five-Year Plans: All you need to know

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/its-samsung-vs-xiaomi-in-india-now-as-battle-for-market-share-hots-up/printarticle/59673954. 1/3
20/07/2017 It's Samsung vs Xiaomi in India now as battle for market share hots up - The Economic Times

A Xiaomi India spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

Samsungs mid-level sales executives are said to have rushed to retailers across India asking them not to sign up for Xiaomis preferred
retail partner programme and for the first time are ready to pay for store branding in stores that are next to such outlets, five senior
industry executives said. Of the 200 preferred retail partners, half are in the National Capital Region with a total monthly revenue of
around Rs 100 crore.
Recommended By Colombia
Feel Like You Deserve 3 Billionaires Agree: Big
To Earn Like The Rich Changes Coming To
Guys? Dubai
QCS Club The Leadership Blueprint

This is the first time any brand has stopped supplies to retailers for giving preference to another brand, said the owner of a large
cellphone store in Delhi thats been cut off by Samsung.

Samsung executives have informed retailers that they do not want to give an inch of space to Xiaomi due to the increased Chinese
aggression already from Oppo and Vivo and they dont want to repeat the mistake they did in China.

The stakes are high for Samsung considering it has been elbowed out of China, the worlds largest market, by local manufacturers.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/its-samsung-vs-xiaomi-in-india-now-as-battle-for-market-share-hots-up/printarticle/59673954. 2/3
20/07/2017 It's Samsung vs Xiaomi in India now as battle for market share hots up - The Economic Times

Online-focussed Xiaomi now wants to expand into the offline market in both India and China to boost sales. Its expecting 35% of its $2
billion India revenue target to be generated by offline sales this fiscal year.

The conflict is likely to intensify with Xiaomi looking to sign up more than 1,000 top retail partners across India as part of which it has
started direct distribution to large stores. Xiaomis preferred retail partner programme involves getting dominant signage outside the
store and up to a third of it inside. It also plans to offer consumer finance as mentioned above.

Samsung has enjoyed a commanding brand presence in retail stores, even though Chinese rivals Oppo and Vivo have been trying to
breach that by buying space from retailers.

A business partner of Samsung said the company has only cut off retailers who removed its first branding signage outside the store.
Several of the retailers were leading partners of Samsung. Since Xiaomi has targeted them, Samsung is now renegotiating with them to
woo back, he said.

However, retailers said Samsung has blocked even those that did not have its branding outside the store.

According to Hong Kong-based market tracker Counterpoint Research, Samsung had a 26% share of the smartphone segment in the
January-March quarter with Xiaomi for the first time jumping to the second spot with a 13% share.

The other Chinese companies followed Vivo (12%), Oppo (10%) and Lenovo-Motorola (8%).

Stay on top of business news with The Economic Times App. Download it Now!

Live Market Industry About Us

News Newsletters Create Your Own Ad
Portfolio Commodities Advertise with Us
Powered by Mobile Speed Terms of Use & Grievance Redressal
Live TV Blogs Privacy policy
Biz Listings RSS

Download it from Download it from Download it from

FOLLOW US APP STORE GOOGLE PLAY Windows Store

Other Times Group news sites Hot on the Web

| | Pune Mirror | Bangalore Mirror | Ahmedabad Mirror Income Tax Return | GST | ONGC-HPCL Merger | NPS | Sensex Today | Gold Rate
| ItsMyAscent | Education Times | Brand Capital | Mumbai Mirror | Times Now | Today | IFSC Code | Sensex Live | President Election | RBI | Nokia 105 | Xiaomi Mi
Indiatimes | | | | Go Green | AdAge India | Max 2
Eisamay | IGN India | NavGujarat Samay | Times of India | Lifehacker | Gizmodo |
Samayam Tamil | Samayam Telugu | Miss Kyra | Bombay Times | Filmipop Services
Book print ads | Online shopping | Matrimonial | Astrology | Jobs | Tech Community |
Living and Entertainment Property | Buy car | Bikes in India | Free Classifieds | Send money to India | Used Cars
Timescity | iDiva | Entertainment | Zoom | Healthmeup | Luxpresso | Gadget Reviews | | Restaurants in Delhi | Remit to India | Buy Mobiles | Listen Songs | News |
Titanium & Platinum Credit Card | Online Songs | MensXP | Hotels | Travel TimesMobile | Real Estate Developers | Restaurant Deals in Delhi | Car Insurance |
Destinations | Cricbuzz | Recipes | Gaana | Happytrips | Getsmartapp Gadgets Now | Free Business Listings | CouponDunia | Remit2India | Techradar |
AliveAR | Getsmartapp App | ETMoney Finance App | Feedback
Interest Network
itimes

In Case You Missed It

LinkedIn takes 'Made in India' Lite App to over 60 countries

Copyright 2017 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/hardware/its-samsung-vs-xiaomi-in-india-now-as-battle-for-market-share-hots-up/printarticle/59673954. 3/3