Chinese smartphone brands continued to grow in Bangladesh

According to a new report by research firm Counterpoint, Chinese brands continue to grow in Bangladesh and now capture 29 percent of the market, up from 13 percent a year ago.

The report said that major Chinese brands like Huawei, iTel, Xiaomi, and OPPO have already started to make their presence felt by grabbing market share from local brands.

Commenting on the growth of Chinese brands, Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research said, "Chinese brands have been aggressively expanding in the Bangladesh smartphone market with low-cost offerings. Major Chinese brands like Huawei, iTel, Xiaomi, and OPPO have already started to make their presence felt by grabbing market share from local brands.

The expected launch of 4G services in January 2018 will further add to the advantage of the Chinese brands, as they offer budget 4G smartphones with good specs. Local brands like Symphony, Walton, and Winmax will have to quickly adapt to the change in the market if they want to maintain share."

Meanwhile, Bangladesh handset market grew 19 percent Y-o-Y and 1 percent sequentially. Flat sequential growth during the quarter was attributed to excess inventory in the market post-EID festival and the impact of heavy rainfall across the country for almost two weeks.

"Samsung was able to maintain its second position in the smartphone segment with 14 percent market share. Its sales nevertheless declined 3 percent compared to Q3 2016. Its Galaxy J2 model was the number one smartphone sold in the country during the quarter thanks to strong promotions," report added. Huawei managed to garner the third spot with 8.5 percent market share in the quarter as its low-cost Y series smartphones helped the brand stay relevant to Bangladeshi consumers and iTel, another is at number five captured 6.9 percent share.

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