Realme Beats Samsung, Vivo; Become India’s 2nd Biggest Smartphone Maker

Realme is now India’s second largest smartphone maker after overtaking Samsung.

Xiaomi is the current market leader with 20% market share..

Realme now accounts for 18% volume share in the branded smartphone market in October this year.

India’s Biggest Brands

This is a phenomenal achievement for a company which started out only 3 years ago as a spinoff of Oppo. 

Samsung trailed behind at #3 with 16% share, while Vivo and Oppo came in #4 and #5 with 13% and 10% share respectively

Realme is now closer to its ambitions of becoming the No. 1 by 2022 with a sales target of 40 million smartphones annually.

Online Strategy

Co-Founder Madhav Sheth said that in the next two years, the company will be among the top 5 brands in consumer electronics, especially televisions, laptops, wearables, and tablets.

What worked for Realme is its aggression in the online sales platform.

Thanks to that, it took the pole position in terms of sales on Flipkart during the festival month, securing 52% share of smartphone sales.

5G And Affordability

Its lineup of 5G phones can also be considered as one of the biggest drivers of its growth.

The Realme 8s 5G became the top 5G smartphone in October in the sub Rs 20,000 segment.

Also driving its growth has been its pricing strategy, with an average selling price (ASP) of Rs 11,080, strongly appealing to the middle class.

For that cost, it does not skimp on high quality specifications as other premium brands would.

It is also making its presence felt around the world, currently occupying 60 markets.

Global Focus Shift

It has zoned in on Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America in particular, perhaps at the cost of India which accounted for 50% of its overall sales.

This figure could come down to 30% as the company expands to other global markets.

According to Counterpoint Research data, it already has 5% market share if global smartphone shipments in Q3 of 2021 are to be believed.

It has recorded 3% share in the European Union market in Q3 of 2021.

Brick And Mortar Stores Still Relevant

It expects to end the year on a high with sales of 23-24 million phones compared to 18 million in 2020.

All its phones are assembled in India and claims to have a localisation of over 70%.

It will increase the number of outlets in India to 55,000, up from the current 30,000.

iIs retail outlets are as important as online if not more, since 70% of sales still happen physically.