The Indian smart phone market saw a healthy double-digit percentage increase in shipments year on year, despite sequential declines from some significant players. Samsung extended its lead at the top of the market, with its devices accounting for around a quarter of the Indian smart phone market. Micromax held second place, with annual shipments falling by more than 20%, primarily due to inventory build-up in its distribution network. Lenovo and Motorola’s combined shipments were just short of 3 million units, up almost 60% year on year, moving them past Intex to take third place in the market. Along with Micromax, prominent local players Intex, Karbonn and Lava all suffered sequential declines in shipments.

‘Local players are finding it tough to compete with global vendors on product quality, making it hard for them to push products into higher price bands,’ said Canalys Mobility Analyst Rushabh Doshi. ‘In addition, Chinese vendors, such as Vivo and Xiaomi, continue to make inroads with low-cost LTE smart phones. The growing importance of online retail has lowered barriers to entry, enabling vendors to grow quickly without having to invest time and resources in building a complex sales channel. Chinese vendors are instead investing heavily in marketing, building brand recognition and cementing their place in the market.’

Canalys will publish its full country-level smart phone estimates and market analysis to clients next week.