Huawei reclaimed its second place spot in the CEE (Central & Eastern Europe) smartphone market from Apple over the last quarter.
The Chinese vendor shipped 1.8 million units in the region during Q2 2017, with its P10 device proving particularly popular. Huawei’s range of low-to-mid tier products has gained traction in CEE, pushing it ahead of Apple by fewer than 50,000 units and increasing its market share to 12%.
Samsung is the clear leader in the region, having shipped 4.9 million devices during the quarter. Recent updates to its Galaxy A and J series devices have seen strong sales, while analyst firm Canalys noted there was high demand among retailers and carriers for the Galaxy S8 “but there are signs that some of these channel players have overestimated consumer demand for Samsung’s flagship model”.
Chinese firm Xiaomi took fourth place in the market after only a year of presence in the region. It shipped 1.1 million devices to take a 7% market share, with particular traction for its budget Redmi range. Canalys senior analyst Tim Coulling noted that while Xiaomi is likely attempting to emulate Huawei’s success in the market, it is taking a different approach to its rival.
“Huawei has used its networking business to muscle into carrier portfolios”, said Coulling, “but Xiaomi works differently, relying on a partnership with Polish distributor ABC Data, which has quickly scaled Xiaomi smartphones into Poland’s largest ecommerce platform, Allegro, and major retailers such as Media Markt, Media Expert and Komputronik.”
“To continue its global expansion, it must avoid litigation by gaining permission to use appropriate patents. With adequate protection in place, it must then recruit distribution partners that can help it establish the Xiaomi brand in an increasingly commoditised market”, he added.
Lenovo took fifth place for the quarter, with a market share of 5%. A total of 15.6 million smartphones were sold in the region during Q2.
