Two Asian brands, Samsung and OPPO, retained their leading positions in Vietnam’s smartphone market in the third quarter of 2017, according to IDC Indochina.

Samsung led in terms of volume, with a market share of 36 per cent, followed by OPPO with 24 per cent. Samsung and OPPO have been locked in competition over recent years to secure even higher market shares. 

“Samsung’s campaigns are great, with J7 the key product helping the South Korean brand ensure its leading position in the third quarter,” Mr. Vo Le Tam Thanh, analyst at IDC Indochina, said. “OPPO remains in second place but other brands increased their sales.”

Interestingly, Nokia took over the third place from Apple, with a market share of 6 per cent, though Apple kept its market share of 4 per cent in the quarter. 

Nokia securing third place would depend upon new products and its human resources in Vietnam, Mr. Thanh had previously told VET. 

Nokia has returned to the mobile phone market both in Vietnam and the world, introducing new feature phones and smartphones last year. Its strategy is to develop the Android system, after failing with the Windows Phone system. 

Reclaiming its former glory will require a lot of effort, Mr. Thanh said, though its name remains well-known in Vietnam and it actually led the feature phone market in 2016. FPT Shop continues to distribute its products, Mr. Nguyen Viet Anh, Deputy CEO of FPT Retail, said.

Meanwhile, Apple is now paying more attention to Vietnam, opening an office in Ho Chi Minh City at the end of 2015. In April, its legal representative in the country, VOTRA, asked mobile stores to cease using the Apple trademark without the company’s permission. 

The number of iPhones sold unofficially exceeds official sales in Vietnam. “Figures from IDC Vietnam exclude iPhone products sold unofficially,” Mr. Thanh explained.

The Finnish brand has cooperated well with current distribution channels and conducted good promotional activities in Vietnam. 

Being priced under $200 is another factor helping the brand gain better sales, according to Mr. Thanh.

The market share of Vietnamese smartphone brands accounted for 6 per cent of the total. The average retail price for a smartphone was $188, excluding VAT, in the third quarter.

At total of 4.2 million smartphones were sold in Vietnam in the third quarter, according to IDC Vietnam.

Forecasting the market in the fourth quarter, Mr. Thanh said the quarter is important as it is the time of end-of-season shopping, and brands will continue to boost their promotions. “It’s hard to change the two leading positions,” he said. 

“Third will be a race between Nokia, iTel, Sony, Apple, ViVo, and others.”

VN Economic Times