Low-cost devices from Cherry Mobile has stolen Samsung’s crown as top smartphone vendor in the Philippines in terms of volume for a second year in a row.
Where Samsung accounted for 13.3% of smartphone shipments in 2014, Cherry accounted for 21.9% according to a report from market intelligence firm IDC. It has kept the South Korean mobile heavyweight at bay since 2013, when it secured 24.3% market compared to Samsung’s 19.9%.
Two other local smartphone brands joined Cherry in the top five, namely MyPhone at third place (11.2%) and Torque at fifth place (4.8%). While Lenovo, another global brand like Samsung, managed to snag fourth place with 6.5% market share.
Local vendors were the only ones that had a rosy 2014, with year-on-year market share growth from 49% in 2013 to 57%, revealing a booming demand for cheaper handsets. Case in point, Sub-PHP4,000 (US$90) smartphone models accounted for more than 58% of smartphone shipments to the country last year.
Chinese vendors, on the other hand, dropped slightly from 16% to 15% in 2014. The share of global vendors also dropped from 35% to 28% as it continues to take blows from both market players.
Aside from just price, Daniel Pang, senior research manager of the Client Devices Group at IDC Asia-Pacific, credited the growth to heavy marketing and celebrity endorsements.
“Branding is critical in the Philippines. The thriving local vendors are those that not only offer budget-friendly smartphones, but also produce strong ATL (above-the-line or traditional media) campaigns and are endorsed by popular celebrities,” he adds.
