Service: Market Pulse

Key Takeaways: 

• Global Handset Sell-in Inclines, Sell-Through Declines Marginally
  • Sell through was slightly weak in July as major markets of China, US, India all were weak. Europe was mixed as UK was up while Italy, Spain were down. Asian markets were flat while MEA rose slightly.
  • Sell in was up slightly. We think Huawei restocking was happening. Huawei had a significant drop of sell in outside of China since late May. We think there is restocking that is happening and the drop in markets like Europe might not be that severe during the summer season.

• Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Oppo Register MoM Growth, Xiaomi and Vivo Decline

  • Samsung continues to gain driven by strong performance and addition of new devices to the A series line up. A series alone accounted for 78% of the total Samsung smartphone sell-through during July.

  • Apple performed well in EU, Japan and Canada but it continued to decline across other regions (incl. US & CH). The brand recorded its lowest monthly sell-through since October 2013 in the Chinese market at 1.4 million units.

  • Huawei’s regained lost market share driven by growth in EU as well as China.

• Apple Dominates Ultra-Premium & Premium Price Band

  • Demand in ultra-premium $800+ price band remained flat primarily because of Apple. Samsung Galaxy S10 5G device has done well in Korea and the US market. It remained the 3rd best-selling device in $800+ price band during July 2019.

  • Premium $600-$799 price band gained marginally. iPhone XR continues to dominate this price band. It accounted for almost half of the total smartphone sales in this price band. LG’s G8 ThinQ has also managed to capture some share in this price band, where it competes with the Samsung Galaxy S10/Plus and Huawei P30 Pro.

Number of Pages: 36
Author: Hanish Bhatia
Published Date: August 2019

Key Takeaways: 

• Global Handset Sell-in Inclined Marginally, Sell-Through Declined
  • June handset sell in rose to 150.5 million in June as Huawei’s push in China was tremendous. It seems to be targeting 40%+ market share in China.
  • Sell through dropped to 146.1 million as US showed weakness due to T-Mobile’s slow down. Japan and Korea also were seasonally low. Europe and South East Asia were weak due to a mismatch in supply and demand which we think is because of Huawei leaving a gap in the market.
• Huawei & Apple Decline, While Samsung and Xiaomi Register MoM Growth.
  • Samsung’s market share peaked in last 12 months driven by A series targeted at <$300 price bands. The growth has come from strong uptake in India and SE Asian nations. Samsung 5G devices continue to do well in South Korea.
  • Apple sales declined due to seasonality across all markets including US, China and EU. iPhone XR accounted for ~35% of the total Apple sales.
  • Huawei took a big hit (68% MoM decline in EU) in June post the US sourcing ban. Operators in EU remained apprehensive and uncertain of the situation during the month of June. Decline in EU was marginally offset by 18% MoM sales growth in China. Huawei continues to sit on high volumes of inventory.
• Apple & Samsung Dominate Premium Price Bands, While LG & OnePlus Continue to Challenge
  • Apple took majority of the share in ultra premium price band with iPhone XS/Max models, followed by Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.
  • In $600-$799 price band, iPhone XR remained the best-selling smartphone that drove up the Apple’s share. Samsung Galaxy S10 non-5G series was second best selling followed by Huawei P30 Pro. LG G8 ThinQ and OnePlus 7 helped their respective brands stay relevant in this price band.

Number of Pages: 36
Author: Counterpoint
Published Date: July 2019

Key Takeaways

• Global Sell-in and Sell-Through Inclines.
  • Sell-through grew 3% compared to April. It could have been better but the Huawei trade ban has taken it’s toll as a mismatch in the market seems to have occurred. All major markets like China, India, Japan, UK, Germany, Korea showed growth but Huawei was absent in most countries.
  • Sell in grew more than 7% as Huawei only hit the brakes in last May we assume. The mismatch in the market allows inventory to grow. This will limit growth in the second half. We believe Samsung, OPPO, Xiaomi to be considered as substitutes for Huawei devices in EU and South Asia.
• Huawei & Apple Decline, While Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Register MoM Growth.

Key Takeaways:

• Global Sell-in Declines, Sell-through Improves: Smartphone sell-through improved in most major markets including US, India and even China. EU remained flat while Japan registered negative growth. Sell-in has gone down thus inventory improved. Huawei incident led to demand-supply mismatch in some markets, so handset sales are expected to go down for several months.
• Apple Declines, Samsung & HOVX Brands Grow: Apple sales remained modest across markets due to seasonality. Apple is expected to go down further due to ongoing tussle between Us and China. Samsung registered growth driven by strong uptake of A & M series in SEA markets and flagship models in EU and Korean market. Huawei registered strong growth in EU and China, however sales are likely to go down due to ban by operators. EE and Vodafone already announced ban in EU. Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi gained in China, India and SEA markets. Oppo is looking to expand in EU targeting premium price bands with Reno series.
• Flagships Dominate Ultra-Premium ($800+) Price Band: Apple and Samsung flagships accounted for 95% of the ultra-premium price band. Apple iPhone XS Max remained best-selling ultra-premium model, followed by Galaxy S10 Plus. US accounted for more than 40% of iPhone XS Max sales while EU (and South Korea) remained the key markets for Galaxy S10 Plus.

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