MGT1022

SUDHANSHU JAIN
LAKSHYA MUNDRA
RAJAT GAIROLA
MANISH
DIGITAL ASSIGNMENT 2

Sudhanshu Jain
[COMPANY NAME] [Company address]
Submitted By – Sudhanshu Jain ( Vivo)

History
Vivo Communication Technology Co (commonly referred to simply as Vivo, named after the Esperanto
word for "life") is a Chinese technology company owned by BBK Electronics that makes smartphones,
smartphone accessories, software, and online services. It was founded in 2009 in Dongguan, China.
The company develops software for their phones such as the Vivo App Store, iManager included in
their proprietary Android-based operating system called Funtouch OS.

Vivo joined the ranks of the top 10 smartphone makers in the first quarter of 2015 with a global market
share of 2.7%.With research and development centres in Shenzhen and Nanjing, the company
employs 1,600 R&D personnel as of January 2016.

Setbacks and Struggle

As company started its journey in 2009 it faced many problems faced by new comers in the market
such as brand recognition, product awareness, quality assurance and market and customer trust.
Although Vivo was new in the market but it handled all these problems effectively by focussing on one
problem at a time and reaching milestones one by one, rising above the ladder and become a global
competitor in market to big smartphone giants such as Xiaomi. To reach at high level of completion
in market quickly Vivo used strategy of making good partnerships and using all the resources at its
disposal.

Some of which are –

 Vivo established a strategic partnership with MTV global music TV broadcasting to earn global
brand recognition.
 Vivo and National Geographic form a strategic partnership in China which helped the company
to successfully open market in India and south-east Asia.
 Vivo becomes the Title Sponsor of the IPL (Indian Premiere League) to gain trust and
recognition in Indian market.
 Vivo also made a use of incredible opportunity of Make in India program to boost its
manufacturing and market share in India and reach a higher level of
 Vivo opened research centres in major cities in the United States (San Diego) and China
(Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan). This enables Vivo to make innovative
and quality products to gain trust and provide better support to its valuable customers.

Competitive advantages –

Xiaomi
Highest selling smartphone

One of the largest smartphone making company in the world. Originating from china it makes
smartphones in huge quantities.

Penetrative pricing
 Xiaomi has the strongest penetrative pricing advantage because it generally uses direct
marketing techniques and avoids dealer and distributor margins.

E-commerce advantage

The Flash sale model is a very popular model which has worked wonders for Xiaomi. In this
model, the product is made available only in limited quantities and sold at a very low price.
This model made the consumers crazy and each Xiaomi looked like a price which was hard
earned.

Research and Development

Xiaomi invests heavily in R&D and it is a market follower but its major R&D expenses are
towards cost advantage and not differentiation advantage.

Quality assurance

Even at such low prices, no one can doubt the quality of Xiaomi phones. The smartphones are
regularly rated high on all E-commerce portals – a further proof that Xiaomi does not
compromise on quality even if lowers the price regularly.

Vivo
Advanced R&D System

Vivo viewed independent research and development, and technical innovation as the key means
to enhance the competitiveness of their brand since their founding. Vivo have established R&D
centers in Shenzhen, Nanjing, and Dongguan, China, responsible for the research and
development of mobile phone products. Currently, these R&D centers provide jobs to over 1600
R&D and design personnel.

First-Class Hi-Fi Acoustics Laboratory

Established in October 2011, the Vivo Hi-Fi audio lab is primarily used for ongoing Hi-Fi innovation
as well as debugging and testing of Vivo Hi-Fi sound quality. The background noise of the audio
lab is less than 20dB as verified by the Ceprei Calibration & Testing Centre. Professional testing
equipment and strict standards guarantee the ultimate Hi-Fi quality across the entire Vivo product
line.

Strict Quality Control System

Vivo believe that product quality is guaranteed by design. Vivo manufacture and operate up to
international standards for quality assurance, and have passed the International Quality System
Authentication of ISO9002. Their dozens of inspection procedures add to the strict quality
assurance system, giving us a reputation for superior-quality products.

Modernized Manufacturing System

Vivo operate computerized SMT workshops and modernized assembly workshops, which consist
of over 90 production lines, with a monthly production capacity of more than 8.5 million units.
With factories in Dongguan, Chongqing, New Delhi, and Jakarta, Vivo manufacturing also features
complete and advanced testing and manufacturing process controls, which are operated by a
professional technological development and testing team.
Competitive Disadvantages

Xiaomi
Offline Distribution – Xiaomi mainly sold through the flash sale but at times, it was difficult for
customers to get their hands on a REDMI or MI model phone. This is because their offline
distribution is not upto mark and Xiaomi phones sell mainly via E-commerce.

Advertising and Marketing spends – The advertising and marketing spends of the brand is very
low. The brand launches ATL campaigns only when coming up with a new product. However, the
advertising is erratic at best and is never consistent.

Brand Image and Equity – Because the advertising and marketing efforts are poor, the brand image
is not so good as Samsung or Apple or other such competitors. The product portfolio of Xiaomi is
also limited which further effects the brand image. Service centres too are limited and all these
factors contribute to the low brand equity and reputation.

Low Skimming price – While other smartphone manufacturers survive on skimming price, Xiaomi
launches its own phones at low prices in the flash sales. As a result, it cannot take advantage of
the skimming price or the advantage is not as profitable as it would be for Samsung or Apple or
other such high end brands.

Vivo
High Range price

Vivo products with same specification as of Xiaomi products usually have higher than of Xiaomi
products.

Limited product line

Vivo have only limited range of products in comparison of Xiaomi product line, this gives
customers less options to choose from and makes Vivo a weaker option to choose.

Unavailability on online stores

Vivo phones are marketed very well but their availability is not good as it should be in the market.

Quality issues

Vivo smartphones may be cheaper than high end phones with similar specifications but they are
not able to provide same quality as them but gives customers bad experience.

Brand Image

Low availability of products and bad customer services problems produce bad brand image which
indeed makes the brand less trustworthy.
 SWOT analysis of VIVO brand

Strength Weakness
 Strength  Weakness
 Attractive Features  High price range
 Own operative system  Not good customer experience
 Aggressive and innovative marketing  Unviability on stores
 Innovative design of products  Limited product line
 Better R&D 

Opportunity
 Large number of potential customers
 Make use of R&D in fast growing Tech
industry
 Have own OS, so able to make huge change
according to customer reviews
Threat
 Major Competition from big giants such as
Samsung and Apple
 Similarity from other brand products
 Trust issues from customers

Submitted By – Lakshya Mundra (16BEE0362) ( Samsung)

It’s hard to remember a time when Samsung wasn’t a major feature of modern life. You can reliably
expect a high-quality, exciting new Samsung phone almost at anytime of the year. It’s been an
impressive rise to the top of the Android market, and we thought it’d be a good time for a little
retrospective, with a history of Samsung.

History
The history of Samsung begins when they were originally founded way back in 1938, and their
electronics division’s been on the go since 1969, but the SH-100 still has the honor of being their
very first mobile phone. Released only in Korea in 1988, it’s fair to say it didn’t set the world on fire,
selling only a couple of thousand units. But the journey had begun, and a mere, uh, twenty or so
years later they’d solidified their position amongst the top competitors. First released in July ’09, the
original Samsung Galaxy kicked off a period of growth that really put Samsung in the forefront of
people’s minds when it came to Android, no longer leaving them thinking of the history of Samsung.
Moving through their catalogue, from the Galaxy S series of phones through to the Note series of
tablets, Samsung have been killing it in all corners and price ranges of the Android market.

Problems and setbacks

That’s not to say they haven’t had their stumbles along the way, throughout the history of Samsung.
Despite fantastic reviews, their big iPhone challenger of 2016, the Note 7, encountered
some problematic battery issues, resulting in the device being recalled across the globe, and causing
serious impact to Samsung’s reputation.

Rectification
The South Korea-based electronics maker will follow new protocols, such as a multi-layer
safety measure and an eight-point battery safety check. It will additionally form a battery
advisory group, the company announced during a press conference on Jan. 23. This group
will be comprised of external advisers, academic and research experts, including professors
from the University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford
University.Samsung has also published details about its eight-point battery safety check — a
process that will include durability tests during which the batteries are overcharged and
subjected to extreme temperatures, visual inspections, X-ray scans and a charging and
discharging test.

Advantages
Sales
Asim Warsi, global vice president at Samsung, asserts that Samsung has been the market leader in
India for the past six years and the number one brand in the smartphone segment for the past 24
quarters. Market research firm GFK too corroborates Samsung’s claim. As per GfK, Samsung had
43.4% value market share and 39% volume market share in Q4 2017.

Wide spectrum of products

While Xiaomi has relied on the lucrative budget to mid-range segment, they haven’t been able to
carve out space in the premium to ultra-premium category (a territory that Samsung is more
comfortable in). The Mi MIX 2 launched last year didn’t make a big splash, for example.Also,
Samsung is the only player in the market that caters to the entire spectrum of smartphone buyers in
India.

Built
When it comes to buying a smartphone, its built quality is an aspect that tops the chart and Samsung
smartphones have prioritized it over any other aspect. Samsung smartphones are made to go
through a series of tries and testing( sometimes even military grade testing) which makes its
smartphones quite durable and sturdy, the one important thing at which Xiaomi lags by miles.

Brand name
Samsung has been in the smartphone business for more than 2 decades now. It comes amongst the
first mobile developers let alone smartphone developers. On the other hand Xiaomi is considerably a
newbie in the smartphone game with about half a decade on the charts. This gives Samsung a major
leverage over Xiaomi with Samsung being comparatively experienced in the smartphone business.

Operating system
Operating system is technically considered the soul of a smartphone, without which it is just a piece
of metal. Samsung realizes its importance and hires the best of software engineers and developers
to meet perfection in this segment thus resulting in one of the best operating systems there is.
Xiaomi on the other hand is still struggling to meet up with the threshold as customers often
complaints about it having severe heating and hanging issues fixing which should be there prime
focus to be compete with tech giants like Samsung.

Disadvantages
Market presence
Xiaomi is flooding the market with phones, and the move is paying off. At any given time, Samsung
has over ten models on sale in the budget segment. The company's ability to flood the market with
devices with minute variances between models allowed it to amass tens of millions of sales, and
that's the route Xiaomi is taking now. Over the course of the last six months, we've seen the launch
of the Android One-based Mi A1 the selfie-focused Redmi Y1 and Y1 Lite the entry-level Redmi 5A
the Redmi Note 5 and the Redmi Note 5 Pro

Local manufacturing to reduce costs

Another area where Xiaomi has focused on over the last two years is local manufacturing. With the
Indian government levying taxes on phones being imported into the country, the onus is now on
companies to set up local factories to effectively compete. Xiaomi already has two factories in India,
and all of its Redmi phones are assembled locally. The manufacturer is working on a third facility to
increase production of phones, and has also invested in a standalone factory that produces
powerbanks.

Venturing into new sectors

Xiaomi is also diversifying its portfolio with the launch of the Mi TV series in India. Long-time Xiaomi
fans have been waiting for the TV series to launch in India for several years now, and for good
reason. The 55-inch Mi TV 4 with a 10-bit 4K panel and HDR10 costs a mere ₹39,999, significantly
lower than the likes of Samsung, Sony, and LG.For what it's worth, Xiaomi isn't targeting premium
OLED TVs with its offerings. It is instead going after the likes of Vu, Micromax, and other budget
players. That's a smart move as Xiaomi's TVs have better build quality and a recommendation engine
that's par none.

Paving the way for new products

If the launch of Xiaomi's latest Mi Home store in Chennai is any indication, the manufacturer is
getting ready to bring its lifestyle products to India this year. The Mi Air Purifier was rolled out in the
country last year, but Xiaomi sells a wide variety of smart home products in China, and like its
phones, its lifestyle products offer a dizzying array of features at affordable prices.

Prices
Xiaomi has made a global name in the smartphone industry in almost quarter of the time that was
taken by the likes of Samsung and they had one very simple marketing strategy, meeting the needs
of the common people. Now who wouldn’t like to have the specs of a phone that would normally
cost around 50k served at less than half the price? Xiaomi met this needs of the commoners and
became an instant hit in the smartphone industry.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths
1. Samsung is present in the market for a long time and has great brand recognition

2. Samsung offers lot of models and options for every price range hence increasing sales e.g. Samsung Galaxy
series has phone in almost all price ranges.

3. It is one of the largest manufacturer of TVs and mobile phones.

4. Samsung brand awareness is at par with world's greatest tech companies

5. The company is known to launch new innovative models every year and keep the market moving.

6. Samsung not only sells its own finished products but also provides a lot of parts like LCD panels, memory etc
to other manufacturers.

7. The company has almost 400000 employees globally.

Weakness
1. Because of intense competition and deadline, Samsung faced lot of issues with its Samsung Note 7 phone.

2. Lot of issues with competitors like Apple regarding patents.

3. Heating and lagging issues.

Opportunities
1. Samsung can innovate more and use the note 7 issue as an opportunity to bounce back.

2. Introducing geography specific phones and appliances can boost the brand

3. Adopting newer technologies to improve upon products.

Threats
1. Intense price competition in the mobile market

2. Samsung has major competition with local brands which are going global like Xiaomi ,Vivo, Oneplus etc

3. The market is very dynamic and failed product can prove to be a big issue

Submitted By – Rajat Gairola ( 16BEE0115)

Oppo Electronics Corporation, commonly referred to as Oppo, is a Chinese consumer

electronics and mobile communication company, known for its smartphones, Blu-ray players
and other electronic devices, owned by BBK Electronics. A leading manufacturer of
smartphones, Oppo was the top smartphone brand in China in 2016 and was ranked No. 4
worldwide. Oppo, owned by billionaire Duan Yong Ping, made its name selling cheaper phones
in rural China (where it has 200,000 retail locations) and Southeast Asia. For the last 10 years,
OPPO has been focusing on manufacturing camera phones, while innovating mobile
photography technology breakthroughs. OPPO started the era of selfie beautification, and was
the first brand to launch smartphones with 5MP and 16MP front cameras. OPPO was also the
first brand to introduce the motorized rotating camera, the Ultra HD feature and the 5x Dual
Camera Zoom technology.
OPPO is relentless in the pursuit of the latest technology, the highest hardware quality
standards and in delivering the best user experience possible. Oppo design, manufacture, and
promote our own products to assure customers of reliable and the highest end products possible
from beginning to end. Since its founding in 2004, OPPO has consistently strived to deliver
users this ideology across the globe. Having successfully entered into the mobile phone market
in 2008, OPPO began looking at expansion into international markets in 2010 and opened its
first overseas business in April of 2010 in Thailand.

Despite its grand opening, Oppo experienced a downfall in terms of its sales due to:
 Lack of local advertising and application-oriented promotions make for product-
illiteracy among local mark.
 Band awareness is there, but still lacks motivation for purchase consideration for much
level.
 Lack of distributive expansion to all areas of world.
Business world mainly common people have very shallow understanding about OPPO brand.
Most of them only know about some general information such as OPPO is giant Chinese brand
making high-tech Smartphones. The reason for such low level of awareness in other functions
is the lack of communication. OPPO does not have any formal channels to communicate with
the consumer community other than its website. In addition to that, most marketing budget is
used to spend on branding. General comments about OPPO brand image as a Smartphone is
good. However, due to some negative impression about Chinese branded Smartphones, OPPO
is still far away from developing its image as a reliable brand. Moreover, business perception
about OPPO is that it is just a Chinese branded Smartphone. As for that, the consumer has bad
perception about OPPO ever since which largely affects the brand image and the products, to
build up relationship with the consumers and it would be challenging for OPPO to apply for
the company.

OPPO’s rise to become China’s fastest-growing smartphone brand, the company did one thing
right: betting on offline retail. The Dongguan-based smartphone maker surprised many
industry watchers when it pushed into the ranks of the world’s largest five smartphone
companies by shipments in year 2016, according to IDC. In China, OPPO became the second-
largest smartphone company by shipments during the same period, overtaking Apple and
Xiaomi, according to Strategy Analytics. Unlike Xiaomi or Huawei, the company relied on a
nationwide network of 200,000 stores to sell its products, OPPO Vice President Alen Wu told
Forbes Asia in a phone interview. Only 5% of OPPO’s sales come from online channels, which
are more like showrooms for its devices, according to the company.
Competitive Analysis:
Advantages:
Oppo

 Newer and Better products – OPPO phones come with great features and have launched
first-ever rotating phone camera and many other features which are never launched by
any other phone.
 Brand Building – OPPO phones has collaborated with big celebrities and made them
ambassadors to market the product better and position the phones in the minds of the
customer
 Quick Market Capture – OPPO has been able to make its name and position in the
market in a very short period of time due to its very exciting features offered to the
customers.
 Price Point – The OPPO phones are available at affordable prices which is another
factor which made OPPO phones readily accepted by the consumers in the market.
 Product Line – OPPO has not only being marketing phones but at the same time are
into Blu-ray devices and headphones
 Parent brand strategy – OPPO phone’s parent brand owns other two famous phone
brands as well which are one plus and Vivo. This depicts that BBK has a very strong
strategy in place to market phones at different segments

Xiaomi:

 Price has been a great strength for xiaomi models. Budget Smartphone launched via
flash sale model.
 Camera is one of the strongest features of Redmi smartphones with sharp and crisp
pictures.
 Successful track record of integrating complimentary firms through mergers &
acquisition. It has successfully integrated number of technology companies in the past
few years to streamline its operations and to build a reliable supply chain.
 High level of customer satisfaction – the company with its dedicated customer
relationship management department has able to achieve a high level of customer
satisfaction among present customers and good brand equity among the potential
customers.
 Cost advantage is one of the major strengths associated with Xiaomi. The profit margin
of as low as 3% and mainly focusing on online sales channels enables the company to
price its products considerably lower compared to the competition.

Disadvantages:

Oppo:

 Competition – Mobile Phone market is highly competitive and there are numerous
players who are fighting for the same market and hence it becomes very difficult
  User Interface – The user interface is not made keeping in mind the usage from the non-
tech savvy consumers.
 Poor Post-Sales Support – One of the main disadvantages of buying OPPO series is that
the after sales support extend by the brand is not good. After sales service built the trust
in the brand that in case something goes wrong then service centers are there to help
them out but OPPO has not been able to provide good support to the customers which
inhibit its growth in the market ass customers cannot trust the brand.
 Quality is Poor – The quality provided by the OPPO phones at the price they put is
inferior and hence the tradeoff is clearly seen in the price. Low price low quality.

Xiaomi:

 Low profit margin can be shown as a noteworthy weakness associated with Xiaomi. A
filing at the end of 2013 revealed that Xiaomi’s operating margin was just 1.8%.
 There is a higher risk for Xiaomi that a decline in sales volume will erase its profit and
this may result in a net loss for the period. Moreover, low profit margin may limit R&D
investments for the electronics and software-company, thus compromising its long-
term growth prospects.
 Lack of product innovation, and lower smartphone capabilities and functionalities
compared to major competitors such as Apple and Samsung is another weakness
associated with Xiaomi. It has been noted that “unlike Xiaomi, its competitors were
able to offer something new and innovative. Vivo offered curved screens; Oppo
and OnePlus dangled rapid charging; LeEco offered exclusive content.
 Not very good at product demand forecasting leading to higher rate of missed
opportunities compare to its competitors.

SWOT Analysis Of Oppo:

Strength:

 Oppo has established itself well in short amount of time in countries like China and
India.
 Oppo offers multiple models with innovative design and features like Selfie Expert.
 The brand offers high end specifications at affordable prices e.g. high end memory and
camera.
 Oppo has marketed the brand well. e.g. In India they have signed up with celebrities.
 Company manufactures phones, Blu-ray players and headphones.
 Oppo's parent organization BBK electronics also owns Vivo and Oneplus which are
also rising fast.
Weakness:
 Intense competition is faced by mobile companies like Vivo, Oneplus, Xiaomi etc.
 The brand does not have clear differentiation from other smartphone brands in its
segment.
 Not a significant upgrade of software from older model to relatively newer one.
 OPPO is having some problems with its brand in term of product performance and
effective communication.
 The high tech Smartphone’s performance is better but the low range product
performance is not satisfactory.

Opportunities:
 Oppo can grow by associating itself more with events and sports which it is already
doing.
 Brand Association – OPPO can try to associate with events to market to wider and
different segments of customer that will help to enhance the customer base.
 Flagship Products – OPPO can launch newer phones that can compete with other big
market players like Samsung and Apple which will help to increase the visibility of the
brand in the market.

Threats:

 Competition – The mobile phone market is intensively growing and it is getting price
competitive which makes it very difficult to survive in the industry.
 Low Barriers to Entry – The profitability of the mobile phone market attracts new
players in the market which eats away the market share further from the cell phone
manufactures.
 The mobile/smartphone market is highly price sensitive and brand loyalty is quite low.

16BEC0018 V.MANISH KUMAR

MGT 1001

Competitor Analysis The research team's competitor analysis is based on Germany’s mobile phone
market with two main competitors Samsung and Apple. The group will be focusing on their latest
models, which are the iPhone 6, Galaxy S5 and MI4.

While the team was comparing the prices, it was identified that Samsung and Apple smartphones
are in the higher price segment with a luxury brand status. Whereas Mi4 is in the medium price
range but Xiaomi offers high quality phones. In Germany, phone carriers provide contracts with
Samsung and Apple phones. These contracts make their products more approachable because
you have to pay monthly instead of the full amount at once.
Due to Xiaomi’s philosophy of keeping costs low, they prefer selling their phones online instead
of in actual shops. Whereas Samsung and Apple have physical stores where customers can try
their products before deciding to

purchase. Samsung is more available in Germany as they also have stores in smaller cities and
partner up with consumer electronic retail stores like Mediamarkt and Saturn.

In terms of promotion, Xiaomi and Apple share the same goals. They both focus on social media
and word of mouth because they believe the brand speaks for itself. In contrast to Apple and
Xiaomi, Samsung follows a more aggressive marketing model with printing ads and TV
commercials.

SWOT analysis of Xiaomi

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Xiaomi

One of the Largest Smartphone maker

Xiaomi is one of the largest smartphone makers in the world. It is said to be the 5th largest
smartphone manufacturer as of 2017. Originating from China, the Smartphones are manufactured
in huge quantities and have wide acceptance across the world.

Highest selling Smartphone

The REDMI Note 4 became the highest selling smartphone in India and China and practically in
50% of the Asian market. This shows that Xiaomi is strongly rising in the smartphone market and
has already beaten several giants.

Huge China and Asia market available

Another benefit to Xiaomi is that the whole Asian market is their playground. As China lies within
Asia and as Chinese mobile brands are highly penetrated in the Asian markets, Xiaomi still has a
lot of ground to explore.

Penetrative Pricing

Xiaomi has the strongest penetrative pricing advantage because it generally uses direct marketing
techniques and avoids dealer and distributor margins.

Good Quality products

Even at such low prices, no one can doubt the quality of Xiaomi phones. The smartphones are
regularly rated high on all E-commerce portals – a further proof that Xiaomi does not compromise
on quality even if lowers the price regularly.

Manufacturing Advantage

China has a huge manufacturing advantage because the country in itself is known for
manufacturing and exporting the products. China is also one of the largest consumers in the Asian
market.

Rising Brand Awareness Xiaomi’s brand awareness is rising and more and more people are getting
to know about the brand thereby resulting in higher sales across the globe.

Growing year on year

The company which started manufacturing in 2011 has grown by leaps and bounds and is regularly
growing year on year.

E-commerce advantage

The Flash sale model is a very popular model which has worked wonders for Xiaomi. In this model,
the product is made available only in limited quantities and sold at a very low price. This model
made the consumers crazy and each Xiaomi looked like a price which was hard earned.

Specifications of the smartphones produced

Xiaomi smartphones are technologically advanced as well and they give higher tech specs at lower
price. Xiaomi phones are especially renowned for their camera which is said to be very high
resolution and gives excellent photos.

Research and Development – Xiaomi invests heavily in R&D and it is a market follower but its
major R&D expenses are towards cost advantage and not differentiation advantage.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Xiaomi

Offline Distribution

Xiaomi mainly sold through the flash sale but at times, it was difficult for customers to get their
hands on a REDMI or MI model phone. This is because their offline distribution is not upto mark
and Xiaomi phones sell mainly via Ecommerce.

Advertising and Marketing spends

The advertising and marketing spends of the brand is very low. The brand launches ATL campaigns
only when coming up with a new product. However, the advertising is erratic at best and is never
consistent.

Brand Image and Equity

Because the advertising and marketing efforts are poor, the brand image is not so good as
Samsung or Apple or other such competitors. The product portfolio of Xiaomi is also limited which
further effects the brand image. Service centers too are limited and all these factors contribute to
the low brand equity and reputation.

Low Skimming price

While other smartphone manufacturers survive on skimming price, Xiaomi launches its own
phones at low prices in the flash sales. As a result, it cannot take advantage of the skimming price
or the advantage is not as profitable as it would be for Samsung or Apple or other such high end
brands.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Xiaomi

Expansion

Covering the developing countries and the emerging markets should be the priority for Xiaomi. As
it mainly follows online sales model, which is becoming

popular in many countries, it should expand to countries where E-commerce mode of purchase is
well established or in the process of establishment.

Distribution

Besides online distribution, Xiaomi also needs to concentrate on offline distribution if it ever
wants to be consistent like some of its top competitors. Offline distribution would also mean
higher expenses and therefore a rise in price. But it will help the brand to create a long term image
and equity.

Brand Building

Brand building methods such as Sales promotions, Trade promotions, ATL campaigns and BTL
campaigns should be launched as regularly as possible to build a better brand image. Xiaomi is far
behind Oppo and Vivo where BTL Campaigns are concerned.

Product Portfolio

Product portfolio of Xiaomi is limited and it has 2 major series which actually contribute to the
complete revenue of the brand. Expanding the product portfolio will help the brand in brand
building as well as in getting higher revenues.

Product innovations & Differentiation

Being a market follower is tough and Xiaomi needs to get a step ahead by introducing highly
differentiated phones which have innovative touches to it. More over, it needs to advertise these
advantages to get more and more customers to buy their products.

Penetration of Smartphones

Across the world, the smartphone as a product is being adopted and people are using more and
more smartphones with combination of Internet. This market penetration of Smartphones is for
the benefit of Xiaomi. The better phones they manufacture, the more they will be able to capture
market share.

The dying need for expensive smartphones

People are tired of spending money every year on a Samsung S8 or the latest Apple Iphone. People
want cheaper alternatives so that they can change their phone every alternate year. As a result,
most potential customers who have the potential to buy high end smartphones are also buying
chinese smartphones for their lower prices. This is why majorly all rising smartphone brands are
from China – Xiaomi being one of them. This shift in consumer preference is to the benefit of
Xiaomi
Threats in the SWOT analysis of Xiaomi

Competition

Oppo and Vivo are 2 of the biggest competitor for Xiaomi because they are themselves from China
and have the same manufacturing advantages like Xiaomi. Besides this, Oppo and Vivo have a
strong offline presence and have huge distribution network. Thus, they are a huge threat to
Xiaomi.

Service

The lack of service centers equivalent to the number of sales by the brand is a worrying statistic.
Xiaomi needs to increase its sales and service centers both if it wants to retain its customers.

Brand Differentiation is absent

The smartphone segment has become such that brand differentiation is becoming very difficult.
Each brand is coming up with products which are almost similar, thereby making it difficult for the
customer to choose one brand over other. This will become especially difficult when more and
more brands come from China.

SWOT analysis of Samsung

PESTLE analysis Contributor Samsung Electronics Co. Limited (OTC: SSNLF) is actually the
consumer electronics subsidiary of the Samsung Group, a conglomerate based in Suwon, South
Korea. Outside of Korea, Samsung is best known as the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile
phones and smartphones, including the highly popular and successful Galaxy.

Strengths

 Samsung is the world’s most successful electronics manufacturer. It is the world’s largest
manufacturer of television sets, liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, mobile phones and
smartphones.  Samsung is the world’s number one marketer of mobile phones with 21.4% of the
world’s largest market share in the second quarter of 2015. Apple is number two with 13.9%[2] 
Samsung has impressive research and design capabilities. It was able to create and roll out
Samsung Pay, a payment app with similar capabilities to Apple Pay, in less than a year. Samsung
has been able to replicate many of the capabilities of both Apple Inc.’s phones and Google Inc.’s
Android operating system for mobile devices.  Samsung has strong manufacturing and marketing
capabilities.  Samsung has long-standing relationships with retailers in the United States and
Europe that provide a steady sales channel for its products.  Weaknesses

 Samsung has not been able to match Apple Inc.’s marketing capabilities for smartphones. Its
share of the U.S. smartphone market fell by 2.3% between 2014 and 2015. In contrast, Apple’s
share price grew by 34.9%.  Some Chinese competitors are catching up to Samsung in the
smartphone market. Between 2014 and 2015 Huawei’s share grew by 48.1%, and Xiaomi’s share
grew by 29.4%.

 Samsung is heavily dependent upon consumer electronics sales in markets with limited potential
for growth, such as the United States and Europe, for much of its revenue.  Samsung’s devices
use the Google Android open source operating system. Many consumers seem to view Android as
an inferior product to Apple’s iOS. The public has not been as accepting of Android as the tech
community has.  Some consumers view Apple products as more advanced and dependable than
Samsung products.  Samsung’s marketing efforts are not as sophisticated as Apple’s. 
Opportunities

 Growing market for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, especially in developing
regions such as Africa and India, where consumers are unfamiliar with PCs. Sales of tablets finally
overtook sales of traditional personal computers in 2015.[3]  Increased demand for tablet and
smartphone-based solutions such as Samsung Pay  New technologies such as wearable tech 
Growing middle class in developing world will increase market for consumer electronics. 
Growing online market from sales channels such as Amazon.com Threats:

 Apple has emerged as the dominant smartphone and tablet brand in some markets, such as the
United States. Samsung has not been able to overcome Apple’s reputation for reliability.  Apple’s
reputation for quality, reliability and sophistication seems to be growing.  The Google Android
operating system, which Galaxy devices depend upon, is not as popular with average people as
iOS is.  Declining or stagnating middle-class incomes in North America and the United States
could reduce consumer buying power in those key markets for Samsung.  Chinese manufacturers
such as Huawei and Xiaomi could emerge as serious rivals to Samsung. These companies’ share of
the critical mobile device market is growing while Samsung’s is falling.  Apple could enter more
consumer products areas such as home appliances and cameras and directly compete with
Samsung in those markets.

Samsung maintains impressive research, design and manufacturing capabilities, but it appears to
have lost its edge in marketing. This company may need to revamp its smartphone marketing and
perhaps design efforts in order to maintain market share in critical arenas like the U.S.

New capabilities like Samsung Pay will be critical if this company wants to maintain its position as
an industry leader. Samsung will also need to learn to deal with aggressive Chinese competitors
and Apple’s reputation.