According to Counterpoint Research’s latest research, the Galaxy S3 mini and Galaxy S4 topped the list of bestselling mobile handsets in France during the full year 2013.

French consumers continue their love affair with Samsung’s mobile devices. France, for many years, has been one of the European market in which Samsung has performed the best. As a result, Samsung’s key models captured 4 of the top 5 spots in the bestselling handset rankings in France during 2013. The top four models ranged from the Samsung Galaxy S3 mini to previous and current flagships such as Galaxy S3 and S4 and the popular phablet Galaxy Note II.

Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 5 was the third bestselling phone in the country whereas the newly launched iPhone 5s quickly climbed to capture the 6th spot despite only being in the market for just 4 months.

The fast-growing local microvendor brand Wiko was the surprise performer in 2013. Wiko managed to drive its brand as well as expand its portfolio into the French channels as the vendor’s Cink Peax model became the 7th bestselling phone during 2013. The Wiko Cink Peax sports a 4.5” IPS display, 8 mega pixel camera with a dual core Mediatek processor running under the hood. Key to the product’s attractiveness is the packaging and specs offered at a very competitive price point of Euro 169 without subsidies. The Wiko Cink King and Slim were other popular models during the year.

Sony Xperia Z also made it to the top 10 list and the Xperia SP was the next best-selling model for the Japanese vendor to feature in the broader top 20 list.

Commenting on the competitive landscape, analyst and consultant at Counterpoint Research, Pierre Antoine stated, “This top 10 list perfectly illustrates the recent evolutions of the French smartphone market. On one end, the upscale consumers continue to crave for premium brands and with diversified form factors from S3 mini to Galaxy Note II, whereas, on the other end there is a growing demand for unsubsidised smartphones below €200.”

Mr. Antoine, further adds, “In this fast-growing sub-€200 segment, newer brands such as Wiko as well as the locally well established brands such as like Alcatel One Touch are very well positioned to grow quickly with their competitive design, decent specifications and attractive price points. With the recent price war on 4G LTE subscriptions initiated by Free Mobile and Bouygues Telecom, we expect this as an important trend to take 4G LTE to broader French consumers over the course of the next 12 months.”

Source: Counterpoint Model Sales Database 2013
^* Mobile Phones Sales only (not shipments). Tablets, PCs, dongles, fixed wireless devices not included. All regional or minor hardware variations included in each model.

Methodology:  

Our Model Sales Database is based on sell-out (sales) surveyed at major mass retailers, distributors across different markets (33 countries) by Counterpoint Research team plus sanity checked with demand side surveys & expert Analyst estimates based on additional secondary research and vendor polling.