Inspite of efforts by Techno to increase market share, Samsung is holding tight to its place as the best-selling smartphone in the Middle East and Africa region (MEA), this is according to a new market analysis for the Middle East and Africa region in Q2 2021. The report titled – Counterpoint Research Market Pulse, June 2021 – revealed that the company boosted market spending at the start of the year, leading to good performance in Q1. However, its market share slid by 4% points to 16% sales in Q2 due to production disruption in Vietnam following COVID-19.
The report noted that Transsion brands, namely TECNO, itel and Infinix, almost doubled their cumulative market share from 16% to 32% during the time under review, as they continued to dominate the lower-priced segment in Africa while making successful entries in some Middle East markets.
It added that Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo have also made substantial gains thanks to aggressive entry initiatives in key the Middle East and North Africa markets, and the misfortunes of Huawei and HONOR, whose cumulative quarterly market share shrunk to 2.2% from 8.2% a year ago.
Speaking on the overall market dynamics, Senior Research Analyst Yang Wang said, “Positive momentum from the end of 2020 has been maintained throughout the first half of the year, with the best Q1 and Q2 on record. Smartphones are becoming an integral part of daily life. COVID-19 has helped consumers discover many practical use cases that were not immediately obvious before the pandemic. While the economic and pandemic situation has improved, demand has been further driven by renewed competition from the new Chinese entrants, wider product availability at multiple price points, and continued channel penetration into previously untapped markets.”
TECNO was ranked as Africa’s top smartphone brand in 2020, according to Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service. The Transsion brand achieved this feat in the second half after successfully launching models in the affordable segment, and continued market spending throughout the pandemic.
In the same year, Samsung saw its market share retreat in all price segments following supply chain disruptions in the earlier parts of the year and a somewhat hesitant reaction to market headwinds towards the year end.
Infinix saw market share gains in 2020 due to strong H2 performance, making the brand the highest ASP (average selling price) among Transsion brands. While Xiaomi and OPPO’s shipments grew YoY, as the brands made aggressive market entry initiatives, with encouraging sales in Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.