The share of Chinese brands reached the highest ever level, accounting for 57% of smartphone sales in Q3 2019 in the Philippines market, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Pulse Service. The rise of Chinese players is mainly due to the growth of Vivo, OPPO and realme and their efforts to grow share with new product launches, increased marketing and distribution channel expansion. Looking at the competitive landscape in the Philippines, Tarun Pathak, Associate Director, said, “Samsung, Vivo and OPPO have become the top smartphone players in the Philippines smartphone market capturing 57% share. The share of local players is declining due to the growth of Chinese players that are focused on launching high-end features at affordable prices through an expanding presence across channels. realme quickly entered the top ten smartphone brands within a year of launching; it has established a strong presence in the region through both online and offline channel expansion and by launching an array of products from budget to upper mid-range to target millennials and Gen-Z consumers.” Commenting on the overall market, Anshika Jain, Research Analyst said, “The overall smartphone market has shown an 11% decline YoY as consumers hold-off ahead of the upcoming holiday season and the expectation of big discounts mid- and high-range smartphones. Q3 has always been a seasonally slow period in the Philippines. “There has been a shift in the Philippines as consumers' preferences are moving toward smartphones with higher specifications and better features. Due to this, we have seen the growth of Chinese players that are renowned for introducing new products with industry-leading feature sets.  As a result, we have also seen the ASP of the market gradually moving up, from $162 in Q3 2018 to $171 in Q3 2019,” she added.

Exhibit 1: Philippines Smartphone Market Share Q3 2019

Source: Counterpoint Research Market Pulse Q3 2019

Market Summary:

• Philippines smartphone market declined 11% YoY in Q3 2019 as consumers held off anticipating discounts and other offers in the upcoming holiday season – especially on mid- and high-tier smartphones.
• The top five brands captured 81% of the total smartphone market.
• Samsung took the top spot with 21% share and 6% YoY growth due to its upgraded Galaxy A series. It has launched four new models within the A series (A10s, A20s, A30s and A50s) during the quarter to tap the budget and mid-segment.
• OPPO was the number two smartphone player with a 20% share due to the good performance of its budget segment device A5s and newly introduced models like A5 and A9 2020.
• Vivo grew 11% YoY driven by discounts on its various devices including Y91 and Y91C during Super Day sale on the online retail platform. Three out of the top ten smartphone models are from Vivo.
• realme has quickly entered the top ten smartphone brands, capturing 4% of the total smartphone market. It has established a strong presence in the market through both online and offline channels and by launching an array of products from budget to upper mid-range smartphones to target its, primarily, millennial and Gen-Z target market segments. It has recently introduced the realme 5 series, which now accounts for 40% of realme’s sales.
• Local brand, Cherry Mobile remained in the top five brands. However its sales declined 6% YoY due to strong competition from Chinese players. During the quarter, it has introduced its new affordable Flare 8 series which managed to capture a 30% share in its total portfolio.
• Huawei’s sales declined 26% YoY as it has lost its position to Chinese players due to the effect of the US-China trade ban.
• Xiaomi is growing at a slow pace in the Philippines market compared to other markets, however, it maintained its position within the top ten smartphone brands. It is slowly gearing-up its presence by launching new devices through Mi Authorized Stores and online platforms like Lazada and Shopee.
• Budget segment devices are popular in the market with sub $150 capturing almost two-thirds of the overall smartphone market.

The comprehensive and in-depth Q3 2019 Market Pulse is available for subscribing clients. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] for further questions regarding our in-depth latest research, insights or press inquiries. The Counterpoint Market Pulse is based on sell-through estimates based on retail surveys, vendor polling triangulated supply chain checks and secondary research. You can also visit our Data Section (updated quarterly) to view smartphone market share Globally and from the USA, China and India. Analyst Contacts: Tarun Pathak   Anshika Jain  Counterpoint Research