Published in Mobiles

Chinese mobile sales slump

by on22 August 2017


Looks like that market will not save anyone soon


Hopes that the Chinese mobile market might pick-up and save the cash cows of one-hit-wonders like Apple have been dashed by new figures from Digitimes Research.

Smartphone shipments in the China market stayed flat on quarter but fell 11.8 percent on year to 94.1 million units in the second quarter of 2017, accounting for 28.98 percent of total global smartphone shipments.

Digitimes Research believes that vendors including Huawei, Oppo and Vivo have increased their component orders for the third quarter, which is likely to result in an over 20 percent on-quarter growth in smartphone shipments in China in the third quarter.

China's smartphone shipments will again drop slightly on a yearly basis in the fourth quarter of 2017 as vendors are expected to adjust their shipments appropriately as compared to an aggressive shipment strategy adopted a year earlier.

Digitimes Research's says that the Chinese market has a few problems. There is a lack of a clear subsidy policy by operators, the number of new 4G service subscribers at the top-three telecom operators hit a low of 56 million in the quarter resulting a decline in demand as well as sales of the entry-level and mid-range 4G smartphones. Some vendors adjusted downward their shipments for the second quarter to help digest the high inventory levels at channels.

The top five smartphone vendors in the China market in the second quarter were Huawei, Xiaomi Technology, Vivo, Oppo and Apple. Among them, Xiaomi saw its shipments more than double in the quarter as it has managed to clear out the inventories of old models, while demands for its Mi 4X and Note 4X models have been brisk.

Oppo and Vivo are ready to further ramp up their shipments in the third quarter as they also have effectively cleared out their inventories at channels in the first half of the year.

Last modified on 22 August 2017
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